some people have asked about military spending and people asked about cutting it more, even though we had drastic cuts and people asked about foreign aid spending and earmark spending and wouldn't that solve the problem. all of that should be looked at. including the military. there is tremendous waste, fraud and abuse in our military system. and we try to get every possible dollar we can to the troops. even if we had no military, it would only solve 20% of our federal spending. and of course, one of our first constitutional duties is to provide for the common defense and a military is necessary and needs to be run a lot better. there is a lack of leadership right now amongst our military ranks. it is not leading when you come here to the congress asking more money for your pet projects and

not doing what you can to eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse in the military. i know there is, because they can't be audited. not because there is a stute, but they can't bring themselves to an audit table. they are so sloppy and don't know what they spend their money on most of the time. that is wrong. that is wrong for our troops. regarding the social entitlement programs, our health care programs, many folks come to me and say, wait a minute, i have been paying into those programs all my life. don't you dare call them social entitlement programs. and you know what? they're right. we do pay in to these programs, most of us through our working lives. here's another truth and more specific truth, mr. spy. look at this graph. and on average, a couple who

made $71 or so through their working lives will have paid in 35% of what they are actually taking out of medicare. a that 65% difference, mr. speaker, that comes out of our kids. that comes out of the grandchildren that don't yet exist yet. that is part of our national debt. that's part of the $17 trillion and $100 trillion that's coming, and that's what's wrong. we are taxing the children of tomorrow who don't have any voice in this except for mine, yours and others who decide to stand for them. they don't have any voice in this. we are taxing them so we can have more on our plate now and that's what has got to stop. and stop with the debt ceiling that will probably come up for a

vote this fall. which way will we go, mr. speaker? what will we do to ensure that the children of tomorrow don't have to pay for the bills of today? it will take courage. it will take, frankly, mr. speaker, more than this congress. we can't wait for washington to do this alone. we need the help of the people. and that's why i take to the floor tonight, ultimately, mr. speaker. getting the word out. know american families, once they know the truths, they will speak that truth to power and they will demand change and demand to live within their means again because that's what every american has done before. want the next to be better off. that's what americans today want, too. and i tell this to you, mr. speaker, and all the members of this house, that when there is a

direct conflict between the people in the here and now and the people of tomorrow, those without a voice, those that don't exist yet that's why they don't have a voice, when there is that direct conflict in terms of a vote on an issue, on a bill, on every turn, we ought to be thinking about the kids, we ought to be thinking about the grand kids and ought to vote for them even if it means voting against us in the here and now and the debt ceiling is an opportunity to do that, because if and when we raise this debt ceiling, the amount we raise it by, will be another tax on top of a debt we have already given them. what are we going to give them for that if they have to pay that tax, how can we ensure through reform, these programs and other items that by the time they become an age of majority,

they won't have to pay that kind of debt load, that's the question before us. so, mr. speaker, in yielding back, i would like to say, i thank you for the time and thank this house for the time and the staff for their work and i look forward to talking to the house throughout the summer and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the house will entertain a motion to adjourn. mr. rokita: i move to adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the house stands

>> where we promote our shared prosperity and iran, where we agree it is critical that we see it is critical that that company do not acquire a nuclear weapon. given our shared interest in peace, i want to note the prime minister's efforts to normalize relations with israel. this will benefit both the turkish and israeli people and can help us also make progress on a two-state solution. i want to highlight. first, we agreed to expanding trade and investment over the past four year, our trade has surged and u.s.

exports to turkey have more than doubled. as the united states pursues new trade and investment partnership with a eu, i want to make sure we deepen our ties with turkey, so we're creating a new, high level committee that will increase investment between our two countries will hp turkish innovation and the progress turkey's economy has made over the last several years i think has been remarkable and the prime minister deserves much credit for some of the reforms that already have. second as allies, we are reaffirming our commitment to mutual security. on behalf of the american people, i want to express our condolences on the outrageous bombings that took place. as always, the united states stands with you. we want to thank you in the

cooperation you provided us. i want to commend you for your courage in seeking a peaceful resolution that has plagued turkey for so long. we will support efforts in turkey to uphold the rule of law and good governance and human rights for all. finally we spend a great deal of time on an issue that has racked the region, the issue of syria. the turkish people have extended generosity and i know this is a burden. i have made it clear that the united states is going to continue helping countries of the region to shoulder this burden, doing our part.

and we're going to keep working with our turkish partners to deliver the food, shelter, and medicine that is needed to save lives. at the same timere going othe keep increasing the pressure on the asaad regime and working theh the syrian opposition. prime minister has pushed for a democratic syria without assad. turkey is going to play an important role as we bring partners together in the coming weeks. we both agree that asaad needs to go. he needs to transfer power to a transitional body. that is the only way we will resolve this crisis and we will keep working for a syria that is free for tyranny.

so again, mr. prime minister, i want to thank you for being here and being such a strong ally. i know that michelle appreciates the opportunity to host mrs. erdogan and your two wonderful daughters this morning. i'm looking forward to our dinner tonight and as always among the topics where i appreciated your advice that is close to our hearts, and that's how to raise our daughters well. you're a little ahead of me in terms their ages. with the prime minister's permission, i want to make one other point. there has been intense discussion around attacks in ben we lost for brave americans. i am intent on making sure that

we do everything we can to prevent another tragedy like that meanshappening. we owe it to them to do everything in our power to protect personnel serving overseas. that's why we have been taking a series of steps that were recommended by the review board after the incident. we're continuing to review our security at high threat diplomatic posts including the size and nature of our presence, including training for those headed to dangerous posts, including warning capabilities and i directed our defense department to insure that our military can respond lightning quick in times of crisis. but we're not going to be able to do this alone. i have been in discussions in my team has been in discussions with democrats and republicans, and i'm calling on congress to work with us to support and fully fund our budget request to

improve the security of our embassies around the world. we also need congress to work with us to provide the resources and to authorities so we can fully implement all of the recommendations of the review board an're going to need congress's helpn termof increasing the number of our marine corps guards who prot i want to say to members of congress, we need to come together and honor the sacrifice of the four americans and better secure the posts around the world. i should add that we are getting help from the turkish government on some of the issues. that's how we learned the lessons of benghazi, and that's what i will stay focused on as commander in chief. with that, welcome to the united states. i'm sorry the weather is not fully cooperating with our lovely rose garden press conference, but i think we'll be okay. >> thank you.

mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, my dear friend, president of the united states, a friend and ally, i am here to pleased to be here in washington to have meetings with the president. i would like to express my thanks for the hospitality that has been shown to us on this occasion on behalf of myself and my delegation. in the president's person, i would like to express our condolences for the terror attack that took place in we express our condolences. we are a country which has been fighting against terrorism for many years. we have lost many lives in that fight against terrism, and so we very well understand the feelings and sentiments of the american people in the face of

such an event. as turkey and the united states, we are both determined to continue to fight jointly against terrorism. my dear friends, turkey and the united states have many crews that cover the middle east to the balkans to asia covering issues such as energy and security supply and other issues. in all of these areas and on all of these issues we display a very strong cooperation. and in our meetings with president obama today we talked about relations with turkey and the united@states and also about topical issues which remain on both of our agenda. we had an opportunity to exchange views on regional and global issues and our exchange of opinions will continue throughout the day with other meetings that will take place during the rest of the day. i am here with close to 100 business people and they are

counter parts in the unit and they will continue to meet this afternoon as well. bilateral economic relations between turkey and the united states have to be improved, and we both have this to do. at the moment, trade stands at $20 billion but this amount is still not sufficient. we have to increase the amount of trade to the two countries. bilateral trade will continue to develop and as we carry forward with these efforts, we need to strengthen this relationship with free trade agreements and other agreements. and i can tell you that as leaders of our nations, we have the will to continue to develop our economic relations. in our discussions that pertain to rnaes,

the top of our agenda. we talked about what has happened so far and what can be done in the future. we have views that overlap as the president has just said. we will continue to discuss this issue in greater detail in our meeting this evening. let me tell you that ending this bloody process in syria and meeting the legitimate demands of the people by establishing a new government are two areas where we are in full agreement with the united states. supporting the opposition and assad leaving are important issues. we also have to prevent syria from becoming an area for terrorist ganizations. we agree that chemical weapons should not be used.

these are all priority areas for all of us. we discuss what needs to be done with the president and we will continue to talk about these in greater detail. iraq was also another area of discussion for us on regional issues. transparent electis in iraqand - ensuring the participation of all groups in the elections are both very important in iraq. with everyone's participation, we would like to see a peaceful period in iraq and this is what both we and the united states would like to see. with respect to the middle east peace process, we discussed with the president this important issue, which is very important for regional peace. one was taking humanitarian aid to gaza, american citizens and

turkish citizen were killed and we are working on compensation for those who lost their lives. and the visits i will pay to gaza will contribute to the peace in gaza and to unity in theestine in my opinion. turkish republic of northern --rus is always in favor of we believe that there is a lot of opportunities to reach an agreement on the cyprus issue. this is an issue we continue to focus on. we will discuss iran and afghanistan, and all of these issues. we have also briefly touched upon some developments in africa and also myanmar.

.e will continue to be the case we also touched upon issues related to the defense industry trade and i can say that this has been a turning point in the context of turkish-american relations. the partnership between turkey and the united states serves peace, stability, and will continue to do so even more in the future. i will cut my remarks as short, because -- not because i'm trying to flee from the rain, but to stop here and say that i hope our discussions will be an official for our relations. >> do you want a number a lot? -- do you what an umbrella? we can arrange it. >> those will be incentive for the press to ask concise

questions so we can give concise answers. giuliana goldman. >> i want to ask you about the iressa. and you assure the american people that nobody in the white house knew about the agency actions before your counsel found out? when they did find out, do you think that you should have learned about it before you last friday? it are you opposed to there being a special counsel appointed? mr. prime minister, what is the status on efforts to normalize relations with israel? do you still plan to go to gaza in the coming weeks? >> with respect to the irs, i spoke yesterday. my main concern is axing a problem. we began that process yesterday and accepting the

resignation of the acting director. we will be putting in new leadership they'll be able to make sure that they are following up on the audit, that we gather up the facts, and hold accountable those who have taken these outrageous actions. it is just simply unacceptable for there to even be a hint of partisanship or ideology when it comes to the inaction of our tax forms. the marines are going to good -- look good next to us. i have a change of suits. i do not know about our prime minister. there we go. you guys, i am sorry.

let me make sure that i answer the specific question. ican assure you that certainly did not know anything about the ig report before it had been leaked through press. s areally the ig report not supposed to be widely distributed or shared. they tend to be a process that everybody is trying to in that -- attack the integrity of. what i am absolutely certain of is that the actions that were described in that report are unacceptable. in addition to making sure that we have got a new acting director, we are going to make sure that we gather up the facts and hold accountable and responsible anybody who was involved in this. we're going to make sure that oridentify any structural

management issues to prevent something like this from happening again. we're going to make sure that we are accepting all of the recommendations the ig has an airport. i'm looking forward to working with congress, to fully guesstimate -- investigate what happened. and look at some of the loss -- laws that create an acuity in which the iressa may -- the irs may not have guidance and be clear what they mean to be doing. so the american people have confidence that the tax laws are being a player to -- applied evenly. anderms of the white house reporting, you have gone the information from mr. carney and others.

ipromise you this, the minute found out about it, my main focus was on making sure we got the thing fixed. i think that it is going to be sufficient for us to be working with ingres's. they have committees. i have ig already there. the ig has done an audit. it is my understanding it is going to be recommending an investigation. the attorney general holder also announced a criminal investigation of what happened. between those investigations, i think we're going to figure out exactly what happened, who was involved, well and wrong, and we are going to implement steps to fix it. that is the main priority that i have, that the american people have. they understand we have got an agency that has in norma's potential power, -- in norma's

enormous power -- potential power. that is why we have to make sure that it is doing its job scrupulously and without a hint somehow theym that are favoring one group over another. as i said yesterday, i am outraged by this in part because i'm a public figure. if the future ministration is trying to use the tax laws to ,avor one party over another or one political view over another, we are vulnerable. that is why as i have said, it does not matter if you're a democrat or republican, you should be equally outraged at the prospect of the iressa not

-- the irs not acting with the kind of neutrality we expect. i think we're going to be able to fix it. we are able to get it done. we have begun that process, and we will go on until it is finished. >> the question about gaza. according to my plans, most probably i would be visiting gaza in june. it will not be a visit only to gaza. i will also go to the west bank. i place a lot of significance on this visit, in terms of peace in the middle east, and this visit is favoring one or the other. i hoping that this visit will interview to unity in palestine. this is a thing that i focus on.

much. i hope that my visit can contribute to that process. thank you. >> my question to you, prime minister. you talked about the chemical weapons. did you percent that evidence to president obama this evening? what is turkey expect the united states? about serious, un said earlier that the chemical weapons would be a red line in syria. do you think that syria has overrun the red line? go.set aside should will the u.s. take more initiative to cs auto? -- to see assad go. >> ami say that chemical weapons and missiles that had

been fired, all of the information is shared between the relevant bodies within our ministration. it is not just turkey and the united states. others haveom, and that. we share information. the un security council, all will receivecil that information. he will continue to work in this way. >> as the prime minister indicated, our militaries and diplomatic personnel are costly sharing information. i have said in the past, we have seen evidence of the use of chemical weapons inside of syria.

it is important for us to make sure that we are able to get more specific information about what exactly is happening, but some -- apartment chemical weapons, people are being killed with artillery and mortars, and the humanitarian crisis and the slaughter that is taking place by itself is sufficient to prompt strong international action. that is why the prime minister and i spoke extensively about this. the step that we are taking to strengthen the opposition politically that it is inclusive and representative although the people inside of syria. the steps we take to strengthen the capacity of the syrian opposition that are on the ground fighting to protect themselves from the assad regime. and that we continue to try to

mobilize the entire international community to put more and more pressure on assad so that he recognizes that he is no longer legitimate, and he needs to go. that we are able to move to the political transition in which the institutions inside of syria are still functioning, but we had a representative, multiethnic, multi-religious body that can bring about democracy and peace inside of syria. with respect to what i've said in the past around red lines. what i have said is that the use of chemical weapons are something that the civilized world has recognized should be out of bounds. as we gather more of it -- evidence of work together, my intention is to make sure that we are presenting everything that we know to the international community, as an

additional reason and mechanism for the international community to put all the pressure that they can on the astonishing. -- the assad regime. there are a whole range of issues united states is engaged in. i preserve the opposite -- additionaltaking steps, diplomatic and military, because those chemical weapons threaten our security over the long term, as well as our allies and friends and neighbors. this is an international problem. tovery much is my hope continue to work with all the various parties, including turkey, to find a solution that brings peace to syria, stabilizes the region, stabilizes chemical weapons, but it would not be something

that the united states is by itself. i do not think anybody in the region, including the prime minister, would think that u.s. unilateral actions would bring about a better outcome inside of syria. >> thank you. i like to ask about the justice department. you believe that the seizure of phone records from associated press journalist this week was an overreach, and do you have confidence in your attorney general? shield lawnterpret interest as that? >> i will let you guys engage in those comparisons. and read theead history, and trail -- and draw your own conclusions.

my concern is make sure that if there is a problem in the government, we fix it. that is my responsibility. that is what we are going to do. that is true with respect to the irs, and making sure that they apply the laws the way they were intended. that is true with respect to the eternity of our diplomats, which is why we're going to need to work with congress to make sure that there is adequate funding for what is necessary. it's respect to the department of justice, i'm not going to comment on a specific impending case. then talk broadly about balance that we have to strike. leaks related to national security can put people at risk. can put men and women in uniform that i've sent to the battlefield at risk. of ourn put some

intelligence officers, who are in various dangerous situations easily compromised at risk. is. national security dependent on those folks being able to operate with confidence that folks back home have their backs. so they are not just left out there, high and dry. potential he put in more danger than they may already be. i make no apologies. i do not think the american people expect me to not be concerned about information that might be compromising missions or my -- my to get them killed. the flipside of that is that we live in a democracy, where he ,ear -- where a free press free expression, and the open flow of information helpful me

accountable, our government accountable, and out democracy function. the whole reason i got involved in politics is because i believe equally that democracy in that process. of this media shield law that was worked on and endorsed by vaux like the , wasngton post editorial finding a way to strike that balance appropriately. ,o the extent that this case which we still don't know all the details of, to the extent this case has prompted renewed interest about how do we strike that balance properly, i think now is the time for us to go ahead and revisit that legislation. i think that is a worthy conversation to have. i think that is important.

i also think it is important to when we express concern about leaks at a time when i have city thousand troops in afghanistan, an have a whole bunch of intelligence officers around the world who are in risky that inns, and outposts some cases are as dangerous as the outposts in benghazi, part of my job is to make sure that we're protecting what they do. while still accommodating for the need for information. or the need for the public to be informed and be able to hold my office accountable. >> i want to ask you, if united states is not set up in syria, how that affect the war?

to react toou have the humming of the president -- town? >> i have complete confidence in eric holder as attorney general. he does his job with integrity, and i expect he will continue to do so. >> you are talking about the part of the glass which is empty. i would like to think of things as half full instead of half empty. to see isbut we like the rigidity on the parts of the international community with her -- with respect to syria. this will we are striving for. i think the united states is doing the same. other countries, the united , andns, the arab league

are stilltries sensitive to what is going on in syria. our aim is to accelerate this process. i will be visiting other countries just to see how we can speed things up in the way which will prevent the best of all people -- prevent the death of more people. our goal is to see the dictatorships go away in syria, and to be replaced with democracy. i think this is a collective responsibility on all countries that believe in democracy. this will continue to do. >>t qution is to you

mr. president. you mentioned that assad should go. the question is, how and when? is your timetable? should we be talking but the syrian tragedy this time next her? mr. prime minister, before your departure, you stated that you had expectations from this visit and that you have some expectations. what is your general observation about this visit? assad have preferred gone two years ago. there's been consistency on the part of my administration that assad lost legitimacy when he started firing on his own people, killing his own people,

who initially were protesting peacefully. for greater voice in their country's affairs. obvious the that has escalated during the course of time. the answer is, the sooner the better. in terms of the question of how, i think we have discussed that. there is no magic or miller for no magic formula for dealing with an extraordinarily violent and difficult situation like syria. if there was, the prime minister and i would have already acted on it, and would be finished. instead, we have to do is apply ,teady international pressure strengthen the opposition. i do think that the prospect of talks in geneva involving the russians and representatives about a serious political

transition that all parties can buy into may yield results. in the meantime, if we're going to continue to make sure that we are helping the opposition, and below the monetary situation, we will do so in close consultation with turkey, which is deeply invested in this. >> thank you very much. as you know, we will be meeting again this evening to go in further detail. as i said before, our views do overlap. whether discussions this evening, we will continue to explore what we can do together. we can consider as part of a roadmap looking at geneva and beyond. russia and china being part of this process is very important.

this is important in the context of the un security council their participation in this process will certainly add to the impetus, the pressure continues to be very important element. look at the humanitarian support that we have provided so far, we seem that supports equaling to provide billion dollars. we continue to do this because we have a border which is 900, tours and length with syria. we have relatives across the border on each side. do this.ontinue to these are important for regional peace because on the one hand, you have the steps that have

been taken to normalize relations with palestinians and the israelis. we do not need to have other problems in the region. steps taken to ring syria and israel together to solve their problems. ofhad five rounds discussions proportionally, they came to an end. steps that all the we take in the future with respect to regional peace will lead to results and we can work together with the united states. thank you. we are discussing all of these issues. there are steps to be taken by the un security council in the geneva process. will continue to assess that. >> thank you.

thank you. thank you guys. >> members of congress and are presented of tea party groups held a new conference this ofning on targeting conservative groups previous the capital for 45 minutes. he spoke at the capital for 45 minutes. >> thank you for being here. my name is michele bachmann. am a member of congress. chairman of the tea

party caucus in the house of representatives. and a former tax litigation attorney for the irs, as will government to repeal obamacare. this is a momentous day. one week ago today, we held a hearing in the house of representatives on benghazi. questions were asked one week ago today. one week ago tomorrow, we found out devastating information again, the irs apparently used for political purposes information about people's beliefs, whether they were religious beliefs, or political believes, potentially to deny people their tax status if a had believes that were against the ministration. and we learned that applications subsequent to-- the original story, we had an

omission from the iris that they in fact made these decisions. this is extremely troubling. the axiom is the power to tax is the power to destroy. now with the implementation of obamacare at hand, and knowing that it is the iressa -- the irs will be the enforcing mechanism for this new entitlement program, it is important to ask, and reasonable to ask, could there be political locations regarding healthcare, access to healthcare, and denial of healthcare? will that happen based on a ?erson's political believes these questions will be considered out of bounds one week ago. today, these questions are considered more than reasonable. and more than fair for the american people. what you will hear our state tories of common people from across the united states and wanted to be able to access

their free speech rights as american citizens, but they were denied those rights because their tax status was denied in order to be able to speak out as an organization. we collected an impressive group of individuals that have very important things to say to you today. we have members of the united states senate, house of representatives, the most poorly we will hear from those people who were victimized by this administration, and this administration's policies. what -- i like to ask mitch mcconnell to come to the podium. thank you. >> thank you. as eric wilson from kentucky is here, i first heard about this issue from him in the summer of 2012. i made a speech about the threat of the federal government using the apparatus of the federal government to quiet the voices of critics.

at the time, the washington post and others said it was just a red herring. now we know it really happened. these horror stories of the government attempted to quiet the voices of critics is rather rampant. it is interesting to note that the iressa apparently -- the iressa gateway left wing group information on one of the conservative groups before their tax status had even been established. this is runaway government at its worst. who knows who they will target next. it is going to be a complete and thorough investigation of this in congress. the only who may have known about it, but what the rank-and- file believed was their mission. the truth will come out. it always does. out sooner, but we will

find out what happened. >> thank you. next cap senator rand paul from kentucky. >> there is something profoundly un-american about targeting your political opponents. whether you are republican or democrat, or independent in this country, to take the abuse ,f a $3.8 trillion government and to use it to stifle opposition, is un-american. i'm a physician. i'm quite worried about the privacy of medical records. i am worried that your medical records now will be evaluated by have thethat seems to ability and intention to use political persuasion and political op-ed to search out political opponents. i'm concerned about this.

someone needs to be held responsible. someone needs to be imprisoned. someone needs to be prosecuted. the resignation of the -- the resignation is a step in the right fraction. we need to know who wrote this policy. they need to be held accountable. but thank you. that goes to the white house. we need to know what the white house knew, and when they knew it. senator mike lee from utah. , these events that have gotten attention over the last few irs, ap, benghazi, tend to confirm our worst fears about our government. they didn't tell us what we don't want to believe, but might be true -- or -- a government is targeting you. the government is spying on you. your government is lying to you. we need your member that this isn't just an act of a democratic administration

attacking republicans. it is much more than that. this is an act of the political ruling class in washington, regardless of affiliation, targeting the american people. we have to remove that when the federal government gets too big, it becomes unmanageable. i agree wholeheartedly with what david f -- david axelrod said. he said that the federal government is too vast for the president united states to control. to manage. he is right. no one can manage something this big. therein lies the problem. our federal government was great for purposes that james madison described as few and defined. it has become a government without limits, without an. no one can manage a $4 trillion annual government. no one can manage a $5 trillion government. we need to roll it back. we need to return it tor, more e

government. that is the only way we are going to be able to prevent things like this happening. when that happens, nobody's going to manage the whole thing effectively. in that happens, if people are going to be targeted. we need to sympathize our laws. we need to downsize our federal government. thank you. >> a man who has been peerless and asking the tough questions, senator ted cruz. >> thank you. i would like to begin by thanking michelle for organizing this. taking a french me house for your leadership this very important issue. whothanking the minimum and have come up here to join us today. -- and thanking the men and women who came up here to join us today. the thousands of hours devoted of their lies to try to turn this country around. thomas jefferson told us when

government fears the citizens, there is liberty. when citizens for the government, there is to rainy. the last couple of weeks we have had a series of revelations, which share common elements. -- between benghazi, and the pressuring of private companies to support political efforts to support obamacare, the unifying themes in those patterns are number one and arrogance and view of government, the machinery at partisan ends, he told the place to punish political enemies. and a disdain willingness to mislaid, and ecb american people. i think the american people need every right to expect matter. they are here because they are working to try to hold their elected officials accountable.

that is exactly their prerogative in the constitution to read protected in the bill of rights told every one of us accountable. the idea that the federal government would be targeting citizens, and particularly looking at speaking out, exercising their right to speak the truth, they would be subjected to special harassment, special targeting. it seems to me there are questions that need to be asked, including who knew about this, who didn't act to stop it, whose favor was being curried doing this? one of the stories i've read on the iressa -- irs was a taxpayer -- if the federal government is as an arm to behave

of the political partisan campaign apparatus, we are losing the constraint that the constitution has meant to put on our government. i am thankful for our citizens here today who hold all of us accountable. >> thank you. he also have with us a significant number of members of the united states congress. , jimrce been joe barton bryan stunt, -- ,ongressman louie gohmert congressman randy hultgren, congressman steve king of iowa. ,ongressman doug lamborn ,ongress and james lankford congressman ted poe.

, andess and ted walberg commerce and jeff duncan, among others. we want to present to you real people who have been affected by the decisions by the iressa, and who knows who else, to attack the liberties of the american people. diane? >> hello. i'm presenting lawrence county tea party. juneled 4501 c4 status in of 2010. we heard nothing for over two years. writing for the election, we received medication from the iressa requesting linking amounts of information. amountsceived lengthy of information requesting information.

we comply as best we could. they wanted more information. we sent more things in. that ended march 5. we still have not deceived any word from the irs. almost three years later, we are still in the dark esther -- as to whether we are being approved for status. we live we live in a free republic. at least we thought we did. when you think of obamacare being implemented and 60 more thousand people -- 61,000 people have a very simple solution to this. let's abolish the irs and have something like a fair tax that would make things much simpler and remove this problem. let's repeal obamacare. thank you. [applause] , diane. you

also a tea party leader from across the united states of the ohio liberty coalition. >> thank you. today not to represent ourselves or even the tea party people from around this nation, but we are here to represent all of the american people who want what we all want, and that is our constitutional rights. we want their freedom of speech and assembly that we are entitled to under our constitution. iss irs targeting demonstration of us being denied that. we're grateful to our purpose and it is for taking this on and trying trying to find out the truth of this. the wheels of justice are turning. they will find out. we want to put faces to the stories. -- we want youed to meet a man from the

cincinnati area. he and his wife are personally audited because the irs said they were members of the tea party. whole problem is too much government. it is too large. the real heroes are the moms and pops and answered and uncles and evil around this country who remember and stood up and did not need to be told what was right or wrong -- and aunt and uncles around this country for remember and stood up and did not need to be told what was right or wrong. we know that this is wrong. go to local tea party website and take another look at the tea party. we are standing up for the rights of everyone. thank you for representing us. we would not have got here if it were not for them. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] a womanwith us next

who's ahead of the tea party patriots. -- the head of the tea party patriots. [applause] veneer of impartiality is shattered. the irs must be audited. tea party patriots insist on independent, transparent, outside and thorough investigation because the irs cannot be trusted. the justice department is suffering from extreme lack of credibility as of the moment. tea party groups have been waiting for years for the irs to treat us fairly and equally. instead they have singled us out and discriminated and persecuted us. government agents have used the irs as a weapon to silence speech and harass innocent americans and perhaps sway

elections. it took over a year to get answers from the inspector general's investigation, which was sparked when questions were asked in march of 2012. the answers in this week's report served to raise even more questions. for instance, who in the irs began targeting groups? why were we targeted? we still do not have answers to the most basic questions. all two-party roots -- groups and patriots have seen corrosive and deceitful coverups and contradictions. that is comingk, out to the media and the american public to see as all. the damaged the irs has caused might be a measurable -- a measurable. -- immeasurable.

there are groups and volunteers who gave up collectively petitioning their government and others who never even attempted to apply for tax-exempt status because they saw what other citizens were entering. there are -- enduring. there are some for whom the irs is still streaming -- stringing along. the public is rapidly losing faith in the irs and its ability to impartially apply the law in an equal and fair manner to all citizens. it is easy to dismiss theoretical, faceless groups. the pain and suffering by the government and foot did upon our fellow citizens is real and by thed -- suffering government upon our fellow citizens is real and profound. tea party patriots brought as many of these groups to d.c. as time would allow. .e stand with patriots

they believe they lost 100 members as a result of the overbearing nature of the irs inquisition. they still have not received word from the irs. hodges from the mississippi tea party withdrew their application after months of delays designed to intimidate americans. the irs question her and her , asking for a list with every book the group had read and a book report on each book. this is clearly excessive. all those across the country who have felt abused and threatened by the irs. tea party patriots has not back down and we will keep fighting. if you want to start a tea party group, sign up with the tea party patriots. we will help you. or any not allow the irs

branch of the government or any government agency to take away our first amendment right or any of our constitutional rights. the irs is thuggish and discriminative. this illustrates why you must have a government that is constitutionally limited. we must have a government small enough to manage and execute its duties confidently and with integrity. most overtly, the government we the people can trust. that is what tea party patriots has fought for over the last four years. >> thank you. [applause] it was feared because it was an organic and spontaneous uprising against big government, against the bailout, and

against the stimulus and against obamacare and dodd frank. this is a spontaneous movement and one administration obvious wanted to silence. it is important to know what the tea party is. they stand for three very simple american concepts. number one, we believe the american people are taxed enough already. we believe the government should not spend more money than it takes in. number three, we believe american government should follow the constitution of the united states. that is what the tea party believes. the hearing from the tea party express. is she here? jordan from the american center -- >> thank you. i want to say it thank you to congresswoman bachmann and members of the congress were standing with people like tom.

got approved a little bit after the election. another is still waiting. 16 clients out of the 27 we have representative -- represented are here with us today. 17 clients ready to sue the irs and bring legal action. if they are approved by friday, we set it to a new deadline for approval for our 10 remaining clients. even if that deadline is met for them, we have common others who .re not able they lost memberships and donations. they missed the election cycle. they were not able to bring speakers in. .he irs, this is far from over 28 withdrew.

zero were denied, but 28 withdrew. they were tired of fighting with the irs. the organization was destroyed through this process. many are willing to start fighting again. this is far from over. if any organizations are interested in taking legal action, whether approved late or aclj.org.ed, go to we can represent you and we do not charge for our services. without our 27 clients and the other groups that spoke out, do think we would have figured out this was happening a year ago? if they do not fight back, they would have withdrawn. those people who got these questions from the irs said, thank you. i'm not dealing with this. reading andre you are you thinking about running for public office one day? is is unconstitutional and illegal.

our members of congress will find this is criminal. we have clients who are damaged whether they got approved two and a half years later and others are still waiting today. one applied in 2009 that has still not been approved. thank you for taking on the irs. >> thank you. [applause] and now mr. todd. >> good morning, everyone. my name is todd. i'm a founder of the tea party .net. about 3 million members. thank you to the press for being here. , theing events like this irs scandal is a pattern.

it is not an isolated event. this is why we started to party organizations over three years ago. we have seen the patterns of this happening. this is the house of cards beginning to fall apart. , with thethe press seizure of phone records. this is an american issue. the tea party was one of the organizations that was targeted. we were targeted. we applied for a 501(c)(4) over three years ago. today we have not received the status. ofhave had three rounds questions. the first round was accessible and normal, but then the questions got longer and more intrusive. they wanted wings like our donor our donorings like list and e-mails and facebook communications and twitter communications. we have over 2 million people on

facebook. this is private information. it makes a chill go down your spine. why would the government want this personal information on american citizens? to give thatout information to them. it is not required and we will not provide it. getting back to the government i went to beds, the first one to welcome the press as part of the tea party movement. welcome. [laughter] [applause] mr. adam brandon. good morning, everyone. two different reporters asked me what are the implications for 2014. want anyone to misunderstand. this is not a short term, political issue.

this is a civil right's issue. this is a long-term issue. it will have an impact far beyond the next midterm election. one thing you will see we have been trying to do is not just be a protest movement on the street. as a group we have been trying to organize a get together -- a get together in our communities. government isthe going in there and messing we are veryit, concerned. .his is not a short-term expect to hear a lot more about this as time goes on. i'm personally curious -- is this coming from the white house? from the agency? or is this individual people of bureaucracy on spring break gone

wild? it'll probably take take us a couple of years to figure out. everyone standing behind me, we will be there. [applause] >> thank you. this is the largest expansion of employees and one of the largest entitlement programs that people have seen in decades. it is crucial that we ask these questions now when the most sensitive, personal information -- healthcare information -- would be centralized in a .ational database you will have access to the database? for what purpose? who will have access to the database? for what purpose? sensitive information can be used to blackmail americans. this question would have been

considered unreasonable and out of bounds a week ago. today this question is highly relevant. we also have a guest from the tea party.net. >> thank you. i'm a chief strategist at eteaparty.net. 40 years ago, the press had an adversarial relationship with the chief executive, richard nixon. today is different. some might say it is casual. folks coming in from obama administration. people coming from the media into the obama administration. some people have said it is incestuous. perhaps what is most disgusting is the degree to which many of you and the established media have taken your marching orders from the dnc and other

operatives. after the tea party revolution in 2010, many of you projected the most about -- vile things about the tea party that isn't racist, which i found particularly ironic. -- that is racist, which i found particularly ironic. [laughter] there is no grounds for dismissing the pathology of the tea party. i want all of you to ask a question about yourselves -- what did you do to help create this environment with the irs where they can operate in such a way? we do not ask for special treatment. we only ask for decency and fairness. thank you. >> thank you. appreciate it. [applause] othere a number of leaders from across the states. from california, e, tennessee,

oklahoma. all across the united states. they can tell you the stories they have heard. paul broun from the state of georgia. tea party organizations have been adversely affected. we have a number of members of congress, all of whom are available to speak with the press afterwards. we have so many people here with so many stories. we can be here for a long time. we want to open up and take a few questions. i want to make it clear that members of congress are here and available to answer your questions and be in leadership or tea party organizations from across the united states. i encourage you to speak in person with members of our congress and to party organizations. they have a lot of shocking details and stories to share. isdo you think the problem

fixed since the president let someone go? my colleague is part of the media. he is asking some of the questions. .ou're asking a great question he asked that yesterday. the president engaged in damage control 101. he wanted to stop the story. he has had a bad week this week. wheree saw again is they're asking for the resignation and it looked like it was going to be a big shakedown by getting rid of mr. stephen miller of the irs. we find out mr. miller was scheduled to resign anyway and part the irs as the early of june. again, the american people have not been told the truth. what did the white house know and when did he know it? we will open up to questions. >> any legislation planned to

address this? >> right now we will have hearings. various chairs have indicated that. .ut there is legislation ever presented from ohio was to put in criminal penalties for -- e two abuse because of the very sensitive , it is wrong for the irs to misuse personal tax data. we have very strict requirements that we could not act without the area of jurisdiction. we have very thick manuals for standard operating procedures. we had to check every box. it did not matter if you are an attorney or in a field or in collections or if you were

notitatter. your work product was checked by your supervisor and you could not ask beyond your jurisdiction. [inaudible] believee any reason to the administration knew about the targeting? -- do you have any reason to believe the administration knew about the targeting? that is what everyone wants to know. were they involved? be ais why there will question e-mail to the president united states. what he needs to say is that he and his a ministration of the fully cooperative with the united states congress so we can restore the american people's trust and credibility of the irs. heardlier this week we the word impeachment of talks around during capitol hill. is that something that should be considered? do some of you feel like that should be considered? >>

microphone to answer that. as i have been home in my district in minnesota, there is not a weekend that has not gone by by someone says to me, michelle, what in the world are you all waiting for in congress? why are you not impeaching the president? he has been making unconstitutional action since he came into office. i will tell you what i have been hearing from people back all. but is there anyone here that would like to speak on that? that is why we need an investigation. we need to know who started this and why and when. is it only contained to the irs or does it go further? >> we also do not want to jump to conclusions. we want to go where the facts can lead us. nyone else? >> can you talk about why did party wants the government's recognition -- why the tea party

wants the government's recognition? jordan? alan? he will answer that. thank you. >> what is the question again? party groups want any kind of recognition from the government? particularly tax-exempt status? >> i think you're making an assumption that is not correct. the organizations very. -- vary. most of them are not political. most of them are interested in policies. that is permitted for organizations. >> thank you. >> this is really an important point for the american public to understand. we did not seek 501(c)(4) status. where businessmen, farmers, teachers. we're doing the prudence thing. we started taking bus trips to washington, d.c.

you need to have money and insurance and take care of your business. we did the prudent thing. citizens united world, we learn you cannot be a corporation a cousin we do not have the ability to do these types of. it was considered a political thing taking a bus trip. what happened was when we started to say what we do, the irs told us we must seek it. they told us we must seek tax exemption. the tea party people, we pay our taxes. .> i would add this all of our clients voluntarily tojected themselves government oversight. they are not rogue. they want to do the right thing. we are subjecting ourselves voluntarily to not just government oversight when 10,

but for the rest of our existence. all of the forms that have to file. they want to do the right thing and say, here i am, government. here's the monday -- money we are spending and here is how we're using it. who illegally targeted them. this is harassment at a level suitis certainly a civil worthy and possibly criminal. it is at least a civil suit. they will be filing next week. even for groups got approved after the election. a criminal investigation is series -- serious and real. it is the whole country that is outraged. >> we have another who would like to add just -- address that

question. andur motto is to educate inspire and empower the american people. we need to tell them about what is happening to their country. that way they can make a judgment when it comes to election day which direction they want the future our country to go into and what opportunities for their and future generations can have. thee trying to put forth principles of the united states constitution on which this country was founded and became the most successful country and envy of the world in the history of mankind. our political activities are severely limited under the .uidelines of the 501(c)(4) we adhere to those guidelines, but we still receive an egregious eight-page letter from the irs asking for every minute

detail and turning over our donor names, sponsor names, and our funding has dried up because of this. membership has been hurt because of the irs has asked for every member name. it is outrageous. >> we have amy cramer who is also a national tea party leader from the tea party express. she also wants to speak on this important issue. >> thank you. thank you to all of the members and others that are here today. this is an important issue that obviously i think we are scratching the service. out to the speaker's office and the senate. thats a targeted effort was popping up all over the country. i'm glad it has come into the light. we all need to stand together

and not let this be brushed under the rug. this is a violation of our first amendment rights. that is a fundamental part of being american. the government works for us. we hired them. this is an abuse of power. it is concerning. the irs is abusing their power. -- they have ady class act lawsuit. what will happen to our medical records when they are implementing obamacare? this is not acceptable. we need to stand strong. thank you for holding this today. number on ite a the status of those turned on? >> some and someave withdrawn are waiting. i want to go back to the were youof why

seeking legal status? have you heard what has happened? you have a government that is forcing people to get a legal status in order to come up here and have their voices heard. once they force you into this final of having that legal status, then they use that to intimidate and abuse to prevent opposite views from being heard. this is a government run amok. youhe ap has taught anything commission be to the -- you willhere are for a while and that when you're no longer needed, you'll be pressured and put out of business as well. this is a very dangerous time. it is interesting question. why would you want legal status? this is the way of tyrannical

government >> again, i want to remind that later today we will be voting in the house of representatives to repeal obama care. we even more impotence and ever to repeal obamacare. many people said the issue is dead and many people said obamacare is here tuesday. we are here as the people's representatives, the real people across the united states, to say, this issue is now revived. it is that, table. we fully believe the american people will demand, because of what they have seen with the abuse of power from this administration, a full-scale appeal of obama care, not just in the house of representatives but also the united states congress. we believe the heat will become so hot that even the president of united states will be forced forced to repudiate his signature legislation. we thank you for being here today. we make available to you all the

members of the united states congress who have so much to say on the issue. we have 20 real tea party organizations hurt and abused. we encourage you to take advantage of the people and speak with them directly about the story. thank you for coming today. >> thank you. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] meets house committee tomorrow. members will hear from the treasury department expect her to roll for tax administration and steve miller, the outgoing act in iressa commissioner, will resign wednesday. our coverage is on c-span2. you can read the inspector general's report online at c- span.org.

in a few moments, a hearing on the fbi's budget request, including director robert mueller's comments on the boston marathon bombing. in about an hour, house debate on repealing the healthcare law. after that, president obama's news conference, including his talking about the irs targeting of conservative groups. later, we will re-air the tea party news conference on the iressa, including congress -- comments from members of congress. on the next "washington journal congo -- journal," representative charles husseini boustany. washington journal is live on c- span every day on's -- at 7:00 a.m. eastern.

an ♪ >> how do you feel about describing your signs and 30 seconds. >> i will make the attempt. imagine you had a yardstick and you cut it. take the remaining thing in -- and cut it in tender many pieces. the size of my finger nail. if you do the process 10 times, you get to the size of the adam. suppose you did that 35 times. what is left of our universe. we have no instrument to measure that so people like me have been working on a piece of mathematics called string theory, superstring theory, to answer the question. >> i tried. >> my wife is also -- often does youreople, what husband actually do? her answer is, he makes up stuff for a living. that is sort of right. the way i try to tell my story is the following. most people know what a

novelist does. they take words and makes characters and tell stories. a theoretical physicist does the same thing except we use mathematica it's -- mathematics. if we are very good at what we do, our stories correspond to something that happens in nature. a little clip you saw a few moments ago was my attempt to boil down to a 32nd soundbite mode describing what it is i and people in my community do to try to understand the world. .> more with james gates fbi director robert mueller says his agency is looking at the failure to follow-up on information that that one of the boston marathon bombing suspects had traveled to russia last year. testifying before the senate appropriations subcommittee on the agency's budget, he also said some agents may be furloughed because of automatic

spending cuts. this is a little less than an hour.

the congressman will hear from the director fbi robert mueller about the fbi's budget and its 2013.ty for fiscal the process that today will be an open public hearing and then we will move to a classified meeting to go over other aspects relating to our global war against terrorism. we want to welcome director moeller -- robert mueller. he will be the longest-serving fbi director since j edgar hoover when he retires in september. he is the only director to serve out a full 10 year term, plus an additional two. thank you for your service. we want to thank you for leading -- effort he i in one of its the fbi.

into a new and during war, the cybersecurity aspect. we also want to thank you for being one of those nighthawk people who were always available 20 47. that is the nature we face in our country, and around the world. while maintaining a vigorous domestic law enforcement agency, there will be a evolution to deal with the predatory threats. we will listen to your testimony today about what we need to make sure the fbi is the premier federal law enforcement agency in the united states of america

and the world. on the there are many fbi right now, particularly those related to the boston marathon bombing. all of us at the fbi more and what happened there. -- mourn-- we moran what happened there. the woman lost a leg. she has not lost her spirit. she was there with her mother. her sister. and her sister's husband. the family members suffered some form of entry. every family has got a story. drove theresponded response and there was a coordinated law-enforcement effort. i know we will be talking and there will be questions about

that, particularly in terms of the authorities the fbi needs to do its job, to be able to prevent such things as happening, the resources necessary to do the important work, and any investigatory gaps. while all eyes are on boston, all eyes are on the f guy also. i was was struck by the last couple of days. the plane explosion in texas, a melancholy event, was an act of predatory? the three kidnapped girls from ohio, the fbi involved there. $45 million atm heist, which was exposed, 40 $5 million in an international coordinated effort, and all the same time going after everything from

other bank robbers to those who have a predatory intent to our country. we want to listen to the issues facing the fbi. we are concerned about the budget. the president's request is at $8.4 billion. the fbi, the appropriation was enacted at $8.1 billion, but after the sequester, $7.5 billion. we are concerned if the sequester continues in 2014, there will be an additional $700 million cut to the fbi. ofis a stunning amount money, particularly when you look at the incredible things the fbi needs to do.

program's, one, cyber, $87 million, particularly the -- $100 million for new people, $7.4 million for biometrics technology, and important facility in alabama. contains support for critical programs, but they are flat funded. counterterrorism, violent crime, the exploitation of children, which i know you have been an enormous advocate by investigating a time and the despicable practice of human tracking -- trafficking. we are concerned about production, like eliminating the national gang center and the consequence of that.

mr. director, we are looking forward to hearing what the and we also be, welcome you to comment on the sequester today and what would be the consequences to the fbi if the sequester continues in 2014. i will ask my entire statement be included in the record and i turned to my vice-chairman, senator shelby. >> thank you. --ector mueller, we join thank you for joining us again. we want to thank you for your service in the country. we are all indebted to the fbi for the sacrifices they and their families make. septemberattacks of 11, the fbi has been tasked

with additional national security responsibilities. today, the fbi's mission includes protecting the united states against acts of terror. , whilerime simultaneously maintaining focus on traditional criminal activities, such as violent crime, public corruption, and white-collar crime. criminals and terrorists are increasingly agile and sophisticated. the constantly changing landscape of criminal activity at home and abroad is -- has challenged the bureau's ability to quickly respond to emerging threats. in recent years, we have seen in cyber security terrorism. it will not stop there. i believe new, unimagined threats, will challenge the fbi and all of us in the future. to remain effective, it is

imperative the bureau have the inherent capability to retool and refocus to address these threats. without a plan to address the threats, the fbi will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis, which is something none of us want to happen. in the past, the bureau has received additional sources from the congress, precisely because it has not been agile enough to refocus its efforts internally. way to not an effective address such pressing issues. $8.3bi request for 2014 is billion. they maintain core missions. i believe it lacks focus on how the bureau will address future, unexpected threats i just mentioned. rec rising the world in which we live and the tough fiscal climate, i am concerned the budget priorities reflected in

this request do not always ensure the borough -- bureau is effective and nimble for the foreseeable future. i am committed and i know the chairperson is to working with you and others. the budget limited resources in a manner that safeguards taxpayers, while preserving public safety. i look forward to hearing from you about the bureau's budget and its priorities. i am also interested in hearing about the fbi's work, pre-and post-boston bombing. they have obtained the telephone records of the associated press journalist. while i appreciate this as an ongoing investigation, i hope you will be at forthcoming as possible in addressing the issue here today. thank you.

and good morning chairman and ranking member shelby. other members of the subcommittee. i served over a time on this subcommittee. i want to thank you for the opportunity to appear here today. on behalf of the men and women on the fbi, let me begin by thanking particularly u2 for your continuing support over the 11 years we have worked together. we live in a time of diverse and persistent threats from terrorists and criminals. we face a wide range of criminal threats

we have seen an extraordinary effort by law enforcement and agencies to find and hold accountable those responsible for the boston bombings. one of the bombers is dead. a suspected suspect has been charged and we continue in our efforts to identify any others who may be responsible. the collaborative efforts of all of our partners have led to the results so far. let me assure you there will be no pause in the effort area there are limits to what we can discuss publicly in the case today as the investigation is active and ongoing. we face a continuing threat from

homegrown violent extremists and they present unique challenges because they do not share a particular profile. their experiences and motives are often not distinct, which makes them very difficult to identify and stop. at the same time, foreign telik jet -- terrorists strike us home and abroad. terrorists operate in a wide praise -- wide place than they did a decade ago. we have seen an increase in terrorist groups and evolution in their tactics. core al qaeda is weaker and decentralized than it was seven years ago and it remains committed to attacks northwest. -- in the west. they pose a continuing and growing threat. in light of the recent attacks on north africa, we must focus

on emerging extremist groups carrying out additional attacks. next, let me turn to discuss the cyber threat, which has evolved significantly over the past decade and cuts across all fbi programs. cyber criminals have become increasingly adept at exploiting weaknesses in our computer networks and once inside, they can extricate the secrets. we also face consistent threats from hackers for profit, organized criminal cyber signet -- syndicates and hacking groups. the cyber threat may well eclipse the terrorist threat in years to come. in response, we are frank and he -- strengthening our capabilities. the cyber division is focused on computer intrusions and network attacks.

side-ecial agent's work by-side with local counterparts on cyber is in ease -- in each of our 56 field officers working to detect and disrupt. we have increased and desk the size and scope of the task force, which brings together 19 law enforcement, military, and intelligence agencies to stop current attacks and prevent future attacks. , wether with dhs and nsa have clarified our lanes in the road for our collective response. cyber crime, as many other global climbs today, -- crimes today, requires a and -- a global approach. we are coordinating investigations with international counterparts. we have special agents embedded with the pleased apartments in ukraine to identify emerging

plans and key players. at the same time, we fully recognize the private sector is the essential partner to protect our critical infrastructure and share threat information in particular. let me turn for a moment to the fbi's criminal programs. the fbi is responsible -- responsibilities range from toplex white-collar fraud international enterprises, from violent crime to corruption. given limited resources, we must focus to be areas where we bring something unique to the table. for example, violent crime and gang activity continued to exact a high toll on our communities. through safe streets and safe trails, we identify and target the most dangerous of these enterprises. to track and disrupt violence, we rely on our partnerships with the dea.

and the el paso intelligence center. at the same time, we are required to and must remain vigilant in our efforts to find and stop child predators. our mission is threefold, first to decrease the vulnerability of children to exploitation, second to provide a rapid decline to our children, to the programs such as our child deployment teams, and to enhance the capabilities of state and launches to task force initiatives. in closing, i would like to turn to sequestration. the impact of sequestration on the fbi's ability to protect the nation from terrorism and crime will be significant. in fiscal year 2013, the fbi's

budget was cut i more than $550 million. cuts will total more than $700 million. not to mention in 2013, approximately 160 million dollars additional. result in 220 vacancies in the fbi by the end of the fiscal year, with 1200 additional vacancies in 2014. we also anticipate furloughs for our employees during the next fiscal year. long said people are the per euros greatest asset. cuts and bert -- cuts and furloughs will limit the fbi's ability to prevent crime and terrorism, which will impact the safety and security of our nation. nonpersonnelo resources, the fbi will have to forgo or delay long needed i.t. be unable to will

maintain the technical surveillance sorrells -- tools. we understand the need for budget reductions but we would like to work with the subcommittee to mitigate the most significant impacts. ranking member shelby, i would personally like to thank you again for your support to the bureau over the years that i have been director very for your support of our office, also. our transformation over the past decade would not have been possible without your cooperation and support. for that, we thank you. i look forward to any questions you may have. >> thank you. i anticipate other members will be joining the committee. all of our appropriation subcommittees are holding hearings today. everybody is spread thin. ofant to go to the impact

the reduction the fbi had to spend from fiscal 2013, a reduction to 8.1 billion dollars, and then the sequester, even more. let me go to the consequences of sequester -- of your request, and the consequences of sequester in 2013 and 2014. so we are already in a tight is it. even before sequester -- tight budget. even both more -- even before the sequester. >> yes. one of the comments senator shelby made in terms of eating a nimble fbi, -- of being a nimble , early on, we recognized a necessity to do that. ourove from a system where metrics were how many arrest

indictments and convictions we had to what is the threat out there and what has been the impact on that particular threat. if the threat has been addressed, let's move onto something else. the fact of the matter is we have got two components in what we cut. one is our people, which is a last resort because it is our persons. we do not have planes. we are not like the military with aircraft carriers and ships and all of the rest of that stuff. we have our people. the other part is the infrastructure that gives us the ability to work as an intelligence and law- enforcement agency. we protect our people. when the cuts cuts come, they come in other areas that is tremendously important to us. they are second to our people. as we address the cuts in 2013 and 2014, we will have to reprioritize to meet the cuts but there will be things as i point out that we will not be able to do that would keep us on track with what we have been

able to accomplish the last 11 years. >> let's go to that. it says the tools of technology, whether it is cyber, biometric, aspects we support, the technology that goes on in the great laboratories you have are one thing. when we go -- the fbi is known through its agents. it is literally the agents on the ground, also working at state and most -- local law enforcement. what will be the impact and what do you anticipate that you will not be able to do as europe -- as you ir ties -- prioritize? >> there are a number of things that fall off the list. one is the national intelligence center, which has been in operation for a number of years.

that centralized gang intelligence, which is critically important around the country. we will have to centralize that. this being that initiative. and try to replicate many of its at ubs -- attributes. it will be losing several million dollars, which has hostile refuge teams, which are actively not only in boston but in alabama, with the individual, the boy who was kept underground and taken off a bus. it was a hostage rescue team that was the entity, along with state and local authorities, that were able to install that particular situation. we will have to cut back on critical response to group training and capabilities.

we would have to cut down on facilitiesransfers, and reduction. 400 agencies around the country. we will have to look at addressing those and see if we can combine some of those. those agencies give us the capabilities to respond anyway -- any place in the country to a substantial federal crime. those are just some the things that will be impacted by these budget cuts. >> it seems to me the challenges you are facing and the management to deal with the consequences, that the threats and needs do not go away. we are going to make do. this is not like deferring maintenance on a dorm somewhere.

this is primarily personnel. personnel needs the most up to date i.t. we have already talked about the watch list. we can go into detail about in another setting. the people are the greatest asset. i can tell you in maryland the high regard that the f.b.i. is to premier home programs but also the day-to-day work of the f.b.i. the way they work with the joint task force, the way they work with our u.s. attorney. we have in integrated effort to protect the people of maryland against everything from mortgage fraud to counterfeit drugs that are coming in, where you're working with the customs people, local law enforcement.

again, these joint task forces seem to crucial and these -- the threats come in at the local level except where you're talking about the big international stuff. y concern is this will have an affect on moral. i know your agents are duty driven, very duty driven but still it will have an affect and it has an affect on the effectiveness on the state and local level. do you con cure with that? >> absolutely. especially if we go to furloughs. devastating is too strong a word ut demoralizing when you are faced with furlough, unable to pay your bills, working hard but

the government has to furlough you because there is insufficient money to keep you on in the position that you're on. we take cuts elsewhere but furloughs will be last. >> do you anticipate that agents will be furloughed? >> yes. >> this is shocking. this is a self-ink flicted wound. this is a self-inflected wound on us. this is not an external threat or organized crime is doing to us, this is what we're doing to ourselves. i think we have to find a solution to canceling sequester, not better managing sequester for this year and the next 10. hat's the ultimately corrosive effect. >> thank you. director, boston, as you well

know was the target of the terrorist attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260. i want to, first of all, commend the work of the f.b.i. and the state and local law enforcement for the response. they did an excellent job, i thought. aisle troubled by a reports that the danger posed, i hope i get the name right tamerlan tsarnaev was not identified because the government, again, was unable to connect the dots. we talked about this before in the intel area. it is disappointing sometimes that after 12 years and hundreds of billions of dollars in investments we're still discussing the government's inability to connect the dots when it is very important. would you walk us through, what you can here, what the f.b.i. -- tamerlan dy

tsarnaev and not learning that he traveled to russia and the f.b.i. contends that it was not aware that he left the country. the boston globe identifies that they generated a notification to the task force in boston. are you aware of that report? >> yes. >> do you agree or disagree with the report? >> i'm not specifically understanding the boston globe report, i understand the text notification that went out. >> what about the joint terrorism task force had received this information, what action could they have taken based on the f.b.i.'s requirement of the subject? >> let me start, if i can --

>> yes, walk us through it if you can. >> i can walk through 75% of it. but in 2011, march, we received notification from the russian authorities an an individual, tamerlan, the older brother and appeared to be a very religious and at least, as far as the older brother was concerned intent in returning and perhaps participanting in jihad in russia. they passed this information on to us for us to follow-up on. we initiated an assessment and a very good agent was assigned and they did the bagged --

background on tamerlan. he went and visited the college where he was registered for a period of time and did a thorough background on him then sfwrufede parents and finally interviewed tamerlan himself. lead fromt of this, a the russian, we found no ties to terrorism. later that summer, in august we got back to the russians and ndicated we did not find any ties. then in october, i think it was, we also went back to the russians on both occasions and on the third occasion we asked them if they had further information that would educate us or elaborate for us their conditions about this individual and we got no response.

so assessment was closed without any further information. what you referred to was the travel that tamerlan took in january through july of 2012 where the russians had asked to be notified if he was traveling in what they call a text notice had gone to the task force to a good customs agent on the joint task force. we do not have any action that s taken on that particular notification. likewise, when he returned to the united states there was an automatic message that was pushed out and it came to the task force in that way and there was no additional action taken on that. it may have been because of the numerous inquiries that we handle. the task force handles hundreds of similar assessments and leads and the like on any given year.

but to the extent that we go back and look and scrub and see what we could have done better this is an area that we're looking at it, scrubbing it, and doing better. will tell you, i do think we've improved our systems tremendously, dramatically, since september 11. to the extent, you can almost be assured in any event there is mebody, if they had some meetings or some participant, discussion or what have you in participanting in terrorists events they may have come across our radar screens but we would not have sufficient information from a variety of sources to confirm that. you also have occasion where is persons at one point in time, appear not to be radicalized but very quickly there after, after they are off your radar screen they become radicalized and you could not have anticipated on

atacks like what we saw in boston. >> some people fall through the crack, no system is perfect. maybe we'll learn from it. n april, the boston herald reported that the commonwealth fusion center was unaware that tamerlan interviewed tsarnaev as part of an investigation as the russian agencies alerted u.s. officials to his increasing radicalization. it is my understanding that these entities are supposed to serve as clearing houses for information about potential threats. the fusion centers contend they are charged with helping to connect the dots, you know. given that the f.b.i. is responsible for the oversight of

fusion centers, how would you characterize their role with respect to intelligence gathering, analysis, and desem nation? is it their reresponsibility to -- responsibility to connect the dots? share information, i know it is difficult. >> let me start by saying we don't supervise the fusion centers. >> who does? >> department of homeland security. >> you work with them but you're not their supervisor? >> right. in boston, between the joint terrorism task force and the fusion centers we have a close sharing relationship. if you talk to the persons who are participanting in this they would be very vocal in terms of how well we work together, which was in the response to the

bombing of april 15. there was a question raised in testimony by one of the chiefs of police in boston about his knowledge about the interview with tamerlan. the fact of the matter is, the joint terrorism task force has state, local, law enforcement personnel on everyone one of those task forces. i think it is -- >> that makes sense, doesn't it? >> it does and that's exactly what we want. perhaps 40%, maybe more of task forces around the country are state and local law enforcement. now, what that joint terrorism task force and fusion center does is take in hundreds of threats over a period of time, particularly a year. they go through them the same way we went through this particular threat. others on the task force may have participanted in some way or shape, because it was not

serious enough to be taken to the leadership. you would not take it to the chief of police or the head of the f.b.i. office. where you look at it with the finding of no association of terrorism. to the extent of this being pushed out of broken relationships and the like, to the contrary. i think if you talk to anyone in the boston task force, fusion center, state police, boston police station, they would say the relationship is excellent and the sharing is excellent as well. >> we still have to continue to work on sharing information on our law enforcement people, don't we? >> absolutely. >> since you have been director, we've gone through that for years and years and i know it is a challenge for you. it is a challenge for the c.i.a. and homeland security. the more you can work and fuse and share the safer we're going

to be, aren't we? >> absolutely. i will tell you that every one of these incidents we go back and look at say what can we do better? in this particular incident handling the text notice is an area we're going to handle better the next time. >> let me get into another area. imimprovised explosive devices. the boston bombing highlighted what our troops have been encountering for years overseas. the devastation caused by i.e.d.'s. the threat from i.e.d.'s, you've talked about this before is widely recognized. in february, the white house released a report on the threat and established a new task force. in spite of the spotlight the administration placed on understanding and encountering

i.e.d.'s, we know this is complicated and challenging. this fails to prioritize funding or the terrorist explosive device. i think it is essential to our understanding of i.e.d.'s and e war that is coming to this country. it is important following the bombing in boston. buzz the budget request ensure that it has sufficient resources necessary to complete its new facility and make substantial progress on the existing backlog? how will the $150 million requested in the budget affect it if it does at all and can you detail too many? >> no, i think i can break it down. let me talk about that and the

relationship and the utility during the boston crisis. immediately upon the explosions we had boston -- in boston our bomb teches out there with the bomb teches from state police and the others. we then flew down tour laboratory pieces, the fragments of the bombs as we picked them up and brought them down to lab in quantico. very quickly, within 24-48 hours we identified the mechanisms, the containers, the kind of black powder and the like that were utilized and then tracing the various components such as the pressure cookers to determine who would have purchased them and where. the box technicians served three roles during this period of time. the first one, a number of them -- i think there were five on scene that were helping to pull

together the fragments. they then put together intelligence bulletins to provide the intelligence to others around the country as to what was seen in hopes that we would not see another one but if we did, someone would have an understanding of the device used here. the third area was the examination of the components and the tracing of the components. this was done by the staff. our future of the system as you well know, we have the facility down at red stone arsenal that is fully financed through next year. at the end of 2014, should house the system. the issues that are outstanding related to o.a.m. and maintaining this capabilities. let me add one thing and address one last thing, that is the cklog of reviewing the

i.e.d.'s that have been forwarded to iraq and afghanistan. that provides intelligence to the military day in and day out and to the intelligence community around the world. we have used that backlog to dentify individuals by fingerprints or d.n.a. or the method of the construction of the bombs who try to get into the united states or terrorists trying to get into other countries. but we have a backlog of devices that we have picked up over the years. but in other words to continue that process we need additional funds to run through that backlog. we had to prioritize but, again, this is one of the things that we prioritize with sequestration with the 2014 budget. we'll have to cut back substantial to address that

backlog. >> but it should be a priority considering the threat to this country. >> yes. >> should it? >> yes. >> thank you. >> picking up on what senator shell by was asking -- shelby was asking, what we would call the focusing on the local law enforcement, the criminal aspects. i work locally but they are national crimes. ortgage of fraud would be one. and the -- turning to the issues related to terrorism and counter counterterrorism. for the boston bombing, the first thing was to catch the bad guys. so there had to be a tremendous

mobilization of law enforcement, which meant the f.b.i. was involved. on my first questions, i'm sure your first questions, the agents on the ground and the boston law enforcement was, number one, are they -- is this it? are they planning more attacks around boston? who are these people? are they part of a larger conspiracy, perhaps connected to al qaeda or al qaeda inspired? is the conspiracy in boston? is it going to occur in other parts of the united states? there were other marathons coming up. there was other international marathons coming up, i think it was the london marathon. so the f.b.i. had a major role. one, all the resources, technical as well as law enforcement, but also your role,

i'm sure was called up to function internationally about -- nationally was going this going to be part of a larger threat? we don't want to go around canceling events and canceling marathons or whatever, etc. my question was everything had to be -- you can't dial up an agent. the reaction -- in other words in order to be effective you have to have the right agents in the right place doing the right thing with the right relationships. correct? >> yes. >> relationships are developed over time and if these agents are furloughed or if there is a hiring freeze it would have an impact on it, am i correct? >> absolutely. >> what would have happened in boston if we were under a furlough? there are many things that work

very well in boston and there's irs that -- areas that require us to go look at it again. >> if we were furloughed people would have been there even if they did not get paid. if you look at, if you're familiar with the incident down in alabama. it is having our persons negotiaters working with the sheriff and the district attorney down there and the hostage rescue team are bringing the important throments that particular case. that is not one we could have prepared for. the shooting in aurora, colorado. when i web out afterwards and talked to the chief and the special agent in charge, they told me a did so well on this

case because we trained so well before. f you talk to the chief of police at the boston police department or the massachusetts state patrol or state police they will tell you that is the working together on the joint terrorism task forces that kicked into place when that happened on that monday. kudos to the first responders from boston to bo p and others that were responsible for security. they ran towards the danger and did not run away. together, we're remarkable and the capabilities and the success they had in serving persons' lives. it is developing those relationships before something like this happens is instrumental. when you have sequestration, when you have the budget cuts we do, what gets cut is training. training develops relationships

and enables you to respond effectively to something like boston. >> this take knows the prevention part of it. recall, when we were facing the sniper situation here in the north creap region and the work ofhe and a.t.f. and the work with local law enforcement and the fantastic job that was done. didn't have to "nationalize it." it involved two states and multiple counties and the way everybody worked together and i had the chance to observe it very up close and personal. t was an amazing effort of coordination. everybody was best at what they were best at, best at what they were needed for. ultimately, it was the federal agentcies that had the sources

that we could identify it. so let's go -- this will be something we'll go into our classified area, which is the resources to prevent these. i think we'll save those for the classified hearing. but before i go, i just want to -- before we recess. when we think about where the 2001. was on september 10, and where we are today, it has been a remarkable transformation. it has occurred under your leadership, a phenomenal feat. you are to be commended. since 9/11, could you estimate how many terrorist attacks the f.b.i. has this warded?

>> i would say over the last three or four years, it is close to 100 terrorist attacks. individuals who were thinking about or involved with or otherwise and that is just over the last fourrs it dependsyour definition of a terrorist attack. in the last three to four years at least, we've disrupted anywhere between 90-100 attack. >> each one of those would have caused casualties, would have had a massive impact on the economy. >> there's others that i could not go as far to say that because that was others who provide support but that is not the person who punches the button. i'm sorry, those figures are fairly accurate. >> senator, we were about to

recess and go sbeeze the closed hearings. >> yes, ma'am. i will ask my questions there. i just want to thank you for your service, again director for all you've done. to w you work ly har keep us safe so thank you. >> thank you, we're going to en other senators to go to the other meeting. this committee will recess and we'll reconvene in the visitors' center where we can proceed with the security brief and the other questions that senator -- senator collins we're about to go to our classified briefing. did you want to ask a question here or can it wait until we go over there? >> it can wait. >> let's recess, go over there and you have -- your time will be reserved. we know there are many there.

the committee is in recess and 217. reconvene in >> in a few moments house debate on repealing the 2010 health care law. after that president obama's news conference with the turkish prime minister, which included his comments on the targeting of the conservative groups by the i.r.s. reaction from moves congress on the i.r.s. . we'll re-air the f.b.i.'s .earing on the budget request on the next "washington journal," we'll discuss the i.r.s. targeting of conservative groups with republican repive from louisiana. he is chairman of the ways and means sub committee. we'll be joined by a california

democrat to take your questions about implementation of the affordable care act later this year and thursday's house vote to repeal it. "washington journal" is live very day on 7:00 a.m. eastern. the house ways and means committee holds a hearing tomorrow morning on the internal revenue service targeting conservative groups. members will hear from the inspector general. steve miller the outgoing commissioner who resigned wednesday. live coverage of the hearing is on c-span2 at 9:00 a.m. eastern. you can read the report online at c-span.org. >> the house on thursday voted to repeal the 2010 health care law. this was the third time members considered resending the

affordable care act in its interty. this portion is a little more than an hour. > when this legislation so transformative passed by the house of representatives and now coming for the floor today to -- i don't know what the word is -- to counter some of the ridiculousness that is being said on the other side of the aisle in relationship to the affordable care act. the fact is, what is happening act. is the patient right that is what they want to do is repeal patients rights.

is this a good idea to do this on women's health? to repeal legislation that gives a wide range of free services to women, the protection being dropped for women when they are pregnant or when they are sick that no longer will they -- under the bill will they no longer be charged higher premiums than men. of course, the republicans want to repeal that today. knowing soon that the woman on't be a pre-existing medical condition is one piece. the fact is, this is not about a serious effort to repeal the act. that is not going to happen. this is another example of job evasion, jobs evasion. in several ways. it is our job to come here and ask for the good of the american people. right now, the american people see that good as as the creation

of jobs. what is it, 134 days into this congress and republican majority has yet to put forth one bill and vote one bill out to create jobs. job evasion. here we are today, with yet another one of their substitutions. let's not talk about jobs. let's use up time and that has been up what up to now, $54 spent on -some days this to repeal the affordable care act. what we should be doing is what the republicans have asked for, gular order to go the budget table, to reconcile the issues between the house and the senate so we can put forward a budget that reduces are the deficit,

creates jobs and strengths the middle class. instead we're wasting time on legislation that is going to undermine protections for the american people when it comes to their health and well being. this legislation is still today gives us an opportunity for our side to talk about the transformative nature of the affordable care act. if there were no reason to pass loves ill, as everyone their own health care and premiums. if that was the case, we still had to pass the legislation because the status quo and health care in our country was unsustainable from at financial standpoint. it was unsustainable for families, individuals, for families it was unsustainable. for small businesses it was unsustainable, for corporate

america the cost of the make was -- health care was a competitive issue. the cost of the rising -- it certainly was unsustainable for cities, states, and the federal government. thebudget could not sustain rapid increase to health care. that's why when the speaker asked the c.b.o. responded by reiterating in a letter he sent yesterday. yesterday the non-partisan congressional office informed house republicans that repealing the affordable care act would crease the deficit by $109 billion over the next 10 years. they said this is a figure they gave the speaker last july.

there might be little changes between now and then but that is about where the figures were. if you want to reduce the deaf it you don't repeal the -- deficit you don't repeal the affordable care act. the purpose of the bill was not only to make health care -- improve the quality of health care, increase the accessability and to lower the cost. in lowering the cost, it would reduce the deficit. it is a bill that is pretty soon many more americans will be taking advantage of it. so far, over 100 million americans have taken advantage of the preventive services. over 100 million americans. over 100 million americans are no longer subjective to lifetime limits on their insurance coverage. that is a remarkable thing.

six million seniors have seen their prescription drug costs be reduced those who are in the doughnut hole be around $6 billion. young people, right now today, can stay on their parents' insurance policy until they are 26 years old. the list goes on and on about the preventive exams that are free to seniors. the list goes on and on about what benefits the action that the republicans are taken would repeal that are good for the health and well being of the american people. this bill is not just about health care, it is about the good health of the american people. it is about prevention, it is about wellness, it is about electric medicine cad records that will change everything in terms of access to care and the

quality of your care because your records are wherever you are. it is entrepreneurial. our founders and their dedication and their sacrifice and their courage calls for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as goals of our new republic, of our democracy. this bill honors the values of our founders in that way. the liberty to pursue your happiness, if you're an artist or photographer, if you're a writer, if you want to be self-employed, if you want to start a business, if you want to change jobs. whatever it is you are no longer job locked because you can only go as fast in reaching your passion and your aspirations as your health insurance program will take you.

if you have a child with a pre-existing medical condition or you are concerned about being sick yourself. you are no longer confined in your pursuit of happy by the cost of a health care premium or the ability to get one. it is entrepreneurial that we see articles now and mr. chairman you have pointed them out in the public media about young people or not even young people, but people who want to leave companies and start their own businesses. they are waiting for this bill o be fully implemented so they have that freedom to go forth. i think this is a waste of the public's time to take this bill on the floor, to hear my colleagues talk on the floor theyette don't know what they are talking about or they do. in either case, they are not presenting the facts about what this legislation does. it is going to be up there with

social security and medicare as pillars of economic and health security for the american people. it is going make us more competitive international because we won't have the anvil of the rising cost of health care. it reduces the deficit and improves the well being of the american people. it is about the entrepreneurial spirit of america. it honors the values of our founders, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. this legislation should be rejected and pretty soon more people as they take advantage of the legislation will see how important it is to them individually and how important it is to the health and well being of our country. i yield the rest of my time. >> the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. >> i would like to yield one

minute to the gentleman from california. >> the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madame speaker. i'm pleased to join my colleague on this legislation. we do have a history in the past of repealing bills such as prohibition. t has been done. they call lifornia this the affordable care act and they are doing it with a straight face. really, $9 hundred billion and now it is approaching $2 trillion. job, 48% of business owners are saying they are holding off for new bause of the obama

takeover. taxes, again, affordable? over $1 trillion of new taxes. how are we calling this affordable? we have seven different measures to repeal portions of the obama takeover with more on the way. thousands of new i.r.s. enforcers will be hired to help implement obamacare. >> gentleman's time has expired. gentleman from tennessee is recognized. >> i reserve the balance of my time. >> the gentleman from california. >> i believe i have one and one half minutes. >> that is correct. >> the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. >> on the east coast it is almost the end of the work day and we know that somewhere a mom

who stood on her feet all day in a retail store or broken her back all day in a nursing home will come home. she'll see that her son our daughter isn't feeling very well. is too sick to eat dinner, can't -- she'll hesitate and she thinks maybe my daughter will get better by morning. a trip to the emergency room might mean a trip to the bankruptcy court. e're here today to honor her work, not disrespect it.

the wall street bankers, the big shots get their way. her day is coming. on january 1, 2014, because for the first time in this country's history we'll do more than talk about the fact that we honor her, we'll honor her work and honor her family with affordable health insurance. that day is coming. this charade won't stop it, no amount of misrepresentation will cease it. the day is coming. the affordable caring act will be implmented. i yield back. >> the gentleman's time from california has expired. >> i yield myself the balance of my time. >> i came here four and half years ago in a bipartisan to work on heark. -- health care. i wish the bill had done as

everything as described here today. i wish the costs had gone down. i wish businesses were hiring everybody because of this bill. were not goinges up. none of these are true, they are. i wish that we had debated this bill in an open manner by regular order on this very floor of the house, which we did not. so i ask our insurance commissioner in tn. if we did not pass this bill, you heard me say earlier in the debate about premiums going up 50-plus%. if we did nothing, what happens to rates in dntn? 8%-10%.ld go up i came here in a bipartisan way not to work on a partisan bill, which is what this is. we need to repeal this bill and replace it with patient-centered

reforms that put patients and doctors back in charge of health care decisions and with that i yield back the balance of my time. >> the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

>> the gentleman from michigan and the gentleman from michigan will each control 20 minutes. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp is recognized. the gentleman is recognized. >> i rise today in support to repeal obamacare. in march of 2010 speaker pelosi said with respect to the president's health care law we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it. washington democrats passed the bill and every week since it has , -- expensive eye opening experience. it causes serious harm to our economy. the legislation before the house is the first step to fixing all of these problems. we must repeal this law and move

forward to develop step by step common sense reform that lowers the price of health care and respects the patient/doctor relationship. it puts the federal government precisely where it doesn't belong, between americans and their doctors. instead of families deciding what coverage is best for them, employers are deciding what they can afford. obamacare also falls short of every one of the president's and congressional promises for the law. it doesn't control costs, doesn't let americans keep insurance they have and like, doesn't protect job, doesn't ensure that seniors have access to their doctors in seniors, and doesn't prevent 21 tax increases, including a dozen that will hit middle-class

families. if that wasn't enough, the health care law is causing serious harm to our economy at a time it is trying to climb out of the hole. we have received countless businesses reluctant to hire or shifting employees from full time to part time because of the steep costs with complying with the law. this is simply unacceptable. well over 11 million americans remain unemployed. i urming my colleagues to repeal this law and -- urge my colleagues to repeal this law. i reserve the balance of my time. >> the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. >> i rise today not positions for the patients rights repeal act. here we go again. this vote is more than just a

side show it's an embarrassing spectacle that has consumed house republicans for more than two years to the detriment of our economy and millions of americans looking for work. republicans on this have their legislative heads in the sand nd their feet in cement. they are blind to the benefits that so many are experiencing through a.c.a. it is already helping millions of americans with many millions more set to gain insurance coverage through the marketplace next year. with their feet in cement 37 times house republicans will have voted to repeal all or part of obamacare. $50 million taxpayer

dollars have been spent by house republican to try to repeal obamacare, which even speaker boehner acknowledged last year is the law of the land. since the beginning of 2011, republicans have spent no less than 15% of their time on the use floor trying to repeal obamacare when they know it would not happen, yet, not once this year -- not once have republicans turned their focus toward job creation. what we have here repeal is a republican obsession. i keep the balance of my time. >> the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan is

recognized. i yield one minute to a distinguished member to the gentleman of louisiana. >> the gentleman is recognized for one minute. iise to vigorously oppose obamacare, once again. hat's what we need to repeal this abomination. look at this chart. where is the doctor? where is the patient? look at the corner. physicians way in the corner, patients way over there. what is at the center of this? at the top? the i.r.s. we all know what is going on with the i.r.s. today. how can we trust an entity like that to enforce this abnomination of the health law? doctors and patients deal with personal information. very personal. that's why you have to preserve

the sanctity of the doctor/patient relationship. this is a recipe of massive failure. that's why i stand with my colleagues to repeal it. let's do the right thing. let's go step by step and get sensible, real reforms that would make americans proud of their health care system. > the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. >> i yield one minute to the gentleman from new york. >> i ask unanimously consent -- i think all of us came to this body with the mandate that we should try to improve the quality of life for our stitches and, therefore, the united states people that made our country so great. education, health care, jobs, these are the things we want to do. but it has reached a point this

is no longer putting democrats in a political advantage, what it is doing is embarrassing the entire congress. i dare say people in the country recognize that there is something wrong going on in congress. those of you who have taken civics 101 knows that there is no intention to repeal this act. people are waiting to get jobs, they are waiting, really, to get health care. we are on the move for that. i've been here over four decades. the devil we've been trying to get universal care, we're almost there. if you're talking about a repeal, you're talk about the majority to pass the bill. the president is going veto it. you have to have 2/3's from both houses to repeal it and that is not going to happen and you know it. >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> i yield one minute to the

gentleman from the ways and means committee. >> the gentleman is recognized. >> this law has been in place for over three years. let's look at the symptom of this law. the cost of premiums, increasing. access to your doctor or plan already more difficult. quality of health care going down because of washington interference. innovation, terribly affected harming quality. choices for patients, decreased. let me get this straight, increasing costs, less access, lower quality, less innovation, limiting your choices. that is a life-threatening and terminal diagnose. diagnosis. o -- it is time to repeal this where doctors and patients make medical decisions, not washington and the i.r.s.

>> the gentleman yields back and e gentleman from michigan is recognized. i yield one minute to dr. mcalexander mitt. -- dr. mcdermott. >> the gentleman is recognized. >> thursday, everyone is going home. you got to have your press release ready. here we come, the 37th time they are going to try to repeal the affordable care act. you've heard a lot of nonsense in two speakers. untruths told right here. how about killing jobs and about rising premiums. washington state put out their premiums yesterday and their premiums for young people are down by 15%. a that talk a going up 450%

year is nonsense. it is fear mongering and, you know, the deficit comes down, insurance is more affordable and accessible, and at the most, 33% have been convinced by this stuff over here. in my home state, people are ready and willing to do it. our governor went out and set it up and we're going to do it. the only thing the republicans are angry about is that obamacare is going to become the law. it's being implemented. it's going to be in place in october. it drives them nuts that they can't figure a way to stop it. they come out here once a month to try to repeal it over and over and over again and they keep failing. that is close to the definition of mental illness, doing the same thing over and over and you're going to get a different result. you're not going to get a different result. this is about votes.weave a new

who are getting their campaign ready. they have to have the check in the box to say they voted against it. expired.ntleman's time i yield one minute to the gentlewoman. >> i am outraged that the internal revenue service has been targeting conservative groups since 2010. this is not a republican or democrat issue. this is a first amendment issue, one that should be a wake-up call to the powers afforded to the i.r.s. under obamacare. no government agency with such corruption and disregard for the constitution has any business accessing or monitoring american's personal health information. they are building the hub, the

largest personal information database ever created by the u.s. government. because of obamacare five government agencies are compiling information for the data, including i.r.s., department of justice, department of homeland security, and social security administration. this means that government bureaucrats are gaining access and power over the american people's financial health, personal information through the implementation of obamacare. >> your time has expired. >> may i have 30 seconds? how can president obama and the congressional democrats support obamacare? it is a law that gives more pow torle the i.r.s., ultimately, the i.r.s. scandal is another example why obamacare must be repealed for the sake of our health care, economy, and our

constitutional freedom. i yield back. >> the gentleman from michigan is recognized. i yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from massachusetts. >> the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> today, i rise in opposition the repeal of the patients' rights act. 71 million americans have taken dvantage for things preventive measures. young adults can stay on their parents' health insurance until they are 26. 98% of the people of massachusetts are insured. the number regularly polls in the high 70's for customer satisfaction. let me say this with some degree of certainty, the best hospitals in the world are in massachusetts. argue bli, the best doctors in the world are in massachusetts,

special the best teaching hospitals are in massachusetts. they made it work. people are happy with the plan. if you're going to get sick, i'm going to get you a spot in massachusetts. here's the point that we ought to be discussing today, the implementation of this successful plan. i'm going to say this with satisfaction, we should thank governor romney for working with a democratic legislature to make sure that the model of the affordable care act was in place. thank you governor romney for helping to make sure this plan was successful. >> i yield one minute to a distinguished member of the ways and means committee. >> the gentleman from indiana is recognized for one minute. >> madame speaker, when obamacare was being debated the champions and cheerleaders indicated it would create 400

million jobs. i find it deeply disturbing that when i travel back to my district in indiana, i hear from constituents. the jobs are already life school support employees, cap but it -- cafeteria workers, and so on. they are being told to obamacare, they will no longer be able to work more than 20 more -- 29 hours a week. who in their right mind endorses a law where the best businesses is to lay people off? if we're serious about addressing rising health care costs, we should repeal this law and replace it with sustainable bipartisan solutions. thank you. i yield back.

>> nujoma for michigan is recognized. the yield a minute to gentleman from the stem of commitment that -- from the state of connecticut. >> i have an idea. one of the heritage foundation had an idea to reform our entire health care system? even better, as mr. neale says, what if that idea was piloted successfully by a republican governor in a democratic state who would you want be their nominee for president read what if that idea were brought to fruition nationally to the affordable health care act, select provide american citizens, especially the uninsured, and those with pre- existing conditions to become the focus of our energyan emphag

to enhance the best in the private sector, and the public health initiatives that have guided this country of ours. what if we do with the american people expect us to do, instead of quibbling over partisan issues, rolling up our sleeves, a coming together for a solution to the american people? click the gentleman is recognized for a death national 30 seconds. >> coming together instead of coming together and quibbling over the affordable care act. putting the nation to work every day we waste in ideological turmoil is another day lost to the opportunity to help the american people, and the key to driving down our national debt. come together with us, solve

this issue for america. >> the gentleman tired -- time has expired. >> i yield one minute to the demo from georgia. >> recognize for one minute. >> i rise today to say it is time to pull obamacare out route by route. we already know it increases premiums and squeezes a family budget. we know that it does not let you keep the plan that you have today. we know they'll dump -- obamacare is crushing jobs and enforcing any parents who have full-time jobs today into part- time jobs. now we have no information. the chief enforcer of the law, the irs, have outed as partisan political operatives. there harassed and bullied the political opponents of the obama administration. now, they want to be in charge of our health cagive me a break.

i don't think so. members, this is your chance. this is your chance to weigh in on the irs scandal. a vote to repeal is a vote to stop the irs. voting to keep obamacare is a vote to empower the irs. the choice is easy. vote take power away from the irs. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. >> i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas. >> thank you. i rise today in opposition to the patient right to repeal act. like a broken record, repeating the same old sad verse, these republicans cannot stop repeating their record of indifference to the healthcare crisis. they have given n pend replace because all they ever

care about was the repeal part. the party of no, this year they have not advanced a single healthcare proposal as an alternative. i only wish that the affordable health care act were is good as they think it is bad. to the millions who have received refunds from insurance companies for overcharging, to the millions who are no longer denied coverage by the fine friend and an insurance -- policy, to the scene user are getting some help on their prescription drugs and preventive care, to the millions more who will be able forinally apply in october coverage they do not have now, for the small businesses who will receive assistance in supplying their employees with the coverage they have been unable to afford, this

obamacare, it works pretty well. together, we could make it better green we could make it more accessible for more individuals. together we can provide more cost-effective care and do something more about hireling healthcare cost. really, the only thing to obamacare is nothing care. i yield back. >> the gentleman yield back. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. >> i yield one minute. >> the gentleman from michigan is recognized. >> thank you. .> i rise to urge support as a doctor, i'm actually

concerned with many different aspects of the bill. it is broad and overreaching. when this law was passed, i was in northern michigan treating patients and wondering how this bill would change the relationship between doctors and patients. i can tell you that from my 30 years of experience, after continuing to speak with doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, and patience, there are problems with the law that need to be repealed. thanks to obamacare, we will face severe problems of access to quality healthcare. we are looking at massive cuts to reimbursements and other care providers. that's the limit access to care. obamacare does not but though the most basic process -- processes that were used to pass this law. my constituents are not able to keep their plans. these are one of the reasons why i urge all my colleagues to support this bill, so we can work together to provide --

>> the gentleman from michigan. >> i yield two minutes to another member of our committee. >> the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. >> i rise today in opposition, it and in support of the patient right to repeal act. we have gone through this many times. we've attempted a committees to try to undercut the patient's right to healthcare. when it wasn't successful. is not the irs individual agency that is the operative of healthcare. where in gods name did you get that from? there hasn't been much truth spoken today on the floor over there.

orther in town halls meetings, i asked this question when we talk about healthcare. i ask individuals to raise their hands if they are against closing the medicare loophole for seniors? are you for that are against that? allowing children to stay on a family's health can land -- healthcare plan. are you for that against it? insuring americans are not denied pre-existing conditions. helping american families avoid medical bankruptcy. every meeting, not one hand goes up. how many over there, raise your hands. i'll wait two seconds. in new jersey, public interest

research group explained by repealing health reform, employers would see health calories -- health cast -- health costs rise. new jersey would have 10,000 fewer jobs. let's get it straight. in conclusion, let me ask my colleagues will vote for appeal, is the opposition willing to increase the deficit? are they willing to give the power back to the insurance companies? >> the gentleman's time has expired. the chair would like to remind the members to address your statement to the chair, not to folks in the second person. >> i think the chair and i yield one minute.

>> the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. >> every head is government has chipped away at our freedom and your freedom and your opportunity for generations and the whether it is bipartisan programs. that brings us together the affordable health care act, which is not affordable. it is not about healthcare. it is about control. your freedom, your choices between you and your doctor are no longer between you and your doctor. someone from here in dc will be involved in your most personal decisions. freedom and opportunity come and the freedom to choose insurers, and your doctor in a truly free market is now gone. this repeal is about your opportunity. obamacare is already taking away from you. i want you to have a job. i want you to work more than 39 hours a week. this repeal is about your freedom.

i want you to keep more money in your pocket. i want you to have low premiums. i'm what you have a a choice. your choice. not washington's. this act is not affordable. it is not about healthcare. the gentleman's time is expired. each your minds the members to address your concerns to the chair. the gentleman from she can. the gentleman from michigan has nine minutes remaining. >> i yield two minutes me judgment from new york. >> the gentleman is recognized. >> i rise today in opposition to the patient's right appeal back. we have heard a lot about the fact that this is a 37 vote to take away health care from hard- working americans.

me put that in context. under republican majority, we've spent 56 hours on the floor baiting repeal of a lofty land. that doesn't come close to capturing how much committee time, and then the time, and debate. , i am not going to -- i'm going to avoid illustrating this point with comparisons by telling you how much time you could have watched gone with the wind in this amount of time. as a matter fact, you could have watched it 15 times. what i want to talk about is what we could've done with that 86 hours of congress time and energy. it could've acted on a real jobs plan to get our economy moving. we could've come together on a plan to avert a devastating sequester cuts that are hitting justead start programs, trim if you. we could've moved forward on gun violence prre

ever structured development. we haven't. my colleagues have been using a charge of incomprehensible charge, something that no american can understand to try to demonstrate how the affordable care act works. it just so happens i have a chart right here. this is the republican plan to deal with the absence of the affordable care act. this is the chart. i will try to explain it to you. they have no plan. they have no plan to substitute the repeal of the affordable care act. they haven't a plan for healthcare at all. i just wish my colleagues would spend as much time building america up as they've tried --

>> the gentleman from michigan is recognized. >> i yield one minute. >> the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. i rise today in support of hr 45. i know our healthcare system is is broken. this form of washington meddling will he makes it worse. the president's law puts too much control in the hands of the federal government. creating a complex system to emphasize the government intrusion over actual patient care. there is no reason for the irs to play a role in our health care system. favoring one, and punishing another. medical decisions already cause deep anxiety in the lives of too many americans. why compound that with the weight of an audit? our goal should be simple. respect you as a patient. connect you to the doctors that you deserve. patients center solutions place

you at the center of our healthcare system. simplifying your life life, not pushing you to the corner of the government. madam speaker, the american people deserve full repeal. i yield back. >> the general information again is recognized. michiganntleman from is recognized. >> i give to midst -- minutes to mr. davis. rise todaybigger, i in opposition to the patient rights appeal lacked. as some of my colleagues prepared to vote in favor of this legislation, i want to make sure that the american people .now that they are taken 13 million americans rebates they got from insurance companies last summer total in at least 1.1 million dollars.

they will be voting to shooting attack that betting inning last summer, millions of women began foriving free coverage preventive services. we will going to take away the fact that 70 million children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage by insurers. they will vote to take away the coverage of 6.6 million young adults who are up to age 26 euros old to be able to be on their parents coverage. they will be voting to take america healthcare back words -- backwards. we cannot afford to go they prepared revote no. d. the gentleman from michig >> i yield to the distinct

chairman of the health subcommittee for the purposes of controlling the balance of our time. >> a man from texas is recognized. >> i yield one for five minutes to a new leader. >> he gentleman from florida is recognized. >> i stand today to show my support for the hr 45, there were he'll of the largest leisure the malpractice ever passed. this one bill, obamacare, has done more to stop -- disrupt our economy to anything i've witnessed. my colleagues on the other side talk about jobs. no job creation on this side. we are working to create jobs here are appealing this bill. this is the number one job killing bill in america. it has rocked the engine that

drives our economy. business owner the entrepreneur they create the jobs, the hard- working americans will lose their jobs, and they're going to lose the health care. instead of health-care reform, congress created eight healthcare tax. it is a taxable pay paid by -- be paid by all americans. the white house declared this -- it is the law. my response of behalf of the people i resist the present -- represent is this -- not for long. i now yield two minutes to another distinguished member of our committee am at mr. blumenauer. >> the judgment of oregon -- the gentleman from oregon is recognized. >> thank you. this has been pointed outhe 37th attemptrilege to run

37 marathons in my career. ateast wn you run a marathon, you get someplace. nearly in's of people are benefiting from the healthcare third of thea million small businesses are getting tax credits to be able to help ensure their employees. we are saying aggressive efforts at better care, lower costs, laminating -- eliminating life time limits, and madam speaker, we are finding across america there are literally hundreds of thousands of people working on the implementation of this legislation. is it perfect? haven't seen a perfect bill, especially one dealing with 70%

of our economy. it is a dramatic improvement over what we have got. instead of working with us to refine and improve over the course of the last four years, we go through these pointless exercises without offering an alternative. my colleagues have their plan. a blank piece of poster board. no specifics. no effort to come forward with something that would do a better job of meeting the needs of seniors, young people, patient protection, lifetime limits, payment reform, i will tell you in oregon i have met with thousands of professionals in that arena well working cooperatively on making sure that oregon is a model of how to do it right. the healthcare reform train has left the station.

we're not going to be repealing it today. >> the gentleman's time has been expired. >> i yield one minute to pennsylvania. >> i think the chairman. it is interesting to hear as they go through this about just how important this is. -- that could have then a morocco's piece of legislation. wouldn't have been wonderful to have debate not to have to shove it down the american people's throats. it would've been wonderful to think that i can actually plan. obama care is making

nationstate. it is having a terrible effect on our economy. it drives a wedge between business owners and business operators, and their employees. that is the biggest problem. we're trying to make those people, the owners, the managers the bad guys. the bad guy in this case is the . we have done something that is absolutely irreplaceable. you cannot do that to people who make a living working with each other, and put them on opposite sides of the case. better healthcare, absolutely. affordable, accessible, absolute. this did not do that. i am intrigued by the amount of passion that we see from the other side and there was a little concern at the time it was crafted to ask opinions. we are not going to quit trying go ask people who actually create the jobs and

find how difficult we have made it for them. how much time on each side? >> the gentleman on michigan has 3.5 minutes remaining. i reserve. >> he gentleman from texas is recognized. >> i yield two minutes to a gentleman from alabama, who understands how minty struggle with healthcare. >> the judgment is recognized. >> i rise to proudly go to repeal obamacare, the most dysfunctional law to ever passed the united states congress. while obamacare dysfunctional? for the vast pejorative americans, obamacare guarantees worse healthcare and higher cost. while the medicare dysfunctional question mark

thereby according to the congressional budget office, -- 800,0000,000 americans lose their jobs. cost that will translate into higher premiums for all bama citizens. why is obamacare dysfunctional? those tax increases come nowhere close to paying for the increases in obamacare costs, thereby denying healthcare to american citizens or forcing even higher taxes on already stressed family incomes. a gives americans worse healthcare. doctors and patients we shut out of costly life-saving health- care decisions. instead, independent payment advisory board bureaucrats will decide what it will pay for the treatments that save your lives or risk ending it. why osama care dysfunctional? .t is suppresses research

why is obamacare dysfunctional question mark it drastically drives up health insurance premiums for americans who work for a living. when my friends across the isle to moan today's vote rejoice that republicans in the house of representatives say that when american lives are at stake, we will never give up, and we will never surrender. >> i yield one minute to a long- distance member of this house. >> he gentleman is recognized. but he gentleman , we oversee the

budget for obamacare. i can tell you the money is not there. even from the mentation. the requests was for a 1.2 million -- $1.2 billion. now he has accelerate to $1.7 billion. there is no funding for an available. carrier on the eve of the largest takeover of a private- sector function in united states history and the money is not there to implement it. what does the secretary of hhs do but go to the private sector and say we need to get money from you to implement obamacare. that is the mafia shaking down businesses for protection money. -- the saying that it secretary will be trying to do that. buu asking people that you regulate for money to implement a program that they

are going to fall under. that is repugnant to any american. we cannot let that happen. the money is not there. >> the gentleman from michigan. >> i yield one minute to mr. jackson. i rise today in opposition to the patient's right of repeal act. i think the gentleman for his time. i want to say thanks. my good friend indicated that there is no plan on the other side. look at the list that i can give.

.et me emphasize texas 17 million children with pre- existing conditions in texas are no longer denied coverage by insurers. then of course, what we're finding out is those who treat those with cancer are suffering because of their cuts in medicare proposed cuts are coming because of my friends on the other side. with the affordable care act will provide his number out for those in need. gimme finite at texas itself itself has 3.4 million women. people with disabilities are benefiting from the affordable care act. more poorly, we have articles that suggest that the poverty in texas is going up. >> the time has expired.

votecan will from texas >> i am honored to yield one minute to the author of the legislation that we are debating today. ms. bachmann. >> the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. is changingll that the course of american history. it is why we need to repeal this bill today. i believe that we will see this bill ultimately repealed. why? it is women who will be hurt under this bill. it is senior citizens who will be hurt under this bill. it is little vulnerable children will be hurt under this bill. as well as families. as well as employers. all of america is at the cost of being negatively impacted. one example, this bill was made out of compassion.

we want people to find care. the reality is, less than one percent of those with pre- existing conditions were able to receive the assistance when the door was slammed shut. we ran out of money. that is what obamacare has delivered. a lot of promises that can't be fulfilled. the four we go forward with this train wreck, let's make sure it ends so we can bring all about chores. we can bring about their helmets and healthcare. as we want. healthcare. i yield back. how much time do i have? >> digital river michigan have 2.5 minutes remaining. -- the gentleman from michigan has 2.5 minutes remaining. >> i yield myself the balance of my time. the genan>> 75 years ago, my pr brought forth ideas at long

last lifting the shame of millions of americans who to bed without healthcare. since that time, the numbers have grown. .oday, over 50 million there is reference to children. how many children today go to bed without a stitch of healthcare? women? how many women today go to bed without any health-care coverage? someone has the nerve to come forth and say there is not enough money to implement?

republicans won't provide that money. someone comes forth here and says there isn't the money to cover those with pre-existing conditions. republicans won't provide the money. >> that is a disgrace. this bill is a disgrace. your public and conduct on this has been disgraceful. i yield the balance of my time. >> he gentleman yield back the balance at this time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. , thisis disgraceful

thousands of pages of bills with little chance to read it, laden with special interest provisions to buy off votes, while the promises made to the american people that costs would go down. none of it happened. publicans were denied even one vote on the house floor to provide a real alternative. that is the disgrace. today, healthcare costs are going up. businesses are not hiring because of this legislation. a toward a power plant or the cost of obamacare is so high, it is equivalent of building two new plants and hiring 100 new workers.

the bottom-line is we are fighting to repeal obamacare a cousin will hurt too many patients. too many papal bash people, and bad laws should be stopped early before people get hurt. year in and year out, we have wrestled with this medicare formula to reimburse doctors. we got it wrong for a doctors and seniors are being hurt. the alternative has been a mess for years. he debt tax as well. can you imagine how much pain he would have avoided if these bad laws had been stopped early before they heard so many americans? make no doubt about it, we needed health reform.

the president and washington democrats got it wrong. let's give patients real choices. this has felt all of his promises. i yield back. >> he gentleman yields back pre- all time for debate has expired. >> the house want to vote along party lines to repeal the 2010 healthcare law. the vote is largely symbolic because democratic leaders likely will not bring it up in the senate. >> lucretia garfield was an educated woman, and a believer in women's rights.

during james garfield's campaign, she played the role of hostess for her husband. when he was assassinated, she returned to ohio and ensure his legacy by making a home into an early version of a presidential library. >> and a few moments, president obama news conference with the turkish prime minister. , a tea partyinutes news conference on the irs, including reaction from members of congress. on thehat, a hearing

boston marathon bombing. later, we will re-air the house debate on repealing the 2010 healthcare law. the internal revenue service practice of targeting conservative groups that apply for tax exemption. members will hear from the tech -- treasury department or tactics ministration. steve miller, the outgoing irs commissioner who resigned men -- wednesday. live coverage at 8:00 eastern. >> present obama says there is no need for a special prosecutor to investigate the targeting of conservative groups by the irs. the king of republicans -- -- saying he has confidence in

eric holder. mr. von maeve earmarks during a news conference with the turkish prime minister. press the assad regime to step down in syria. this is 40 minutes. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. >> it is a great pleasure to welce my friend back to the whithouse. this visit is also another opportunity for me to return the extraordinary hospitality that the prime minister and people showed me on my visit to turkey four years ago. that included the prime minister's beautiful hometown of istanbul. this visit reflects the importance that the united states places on our relationship with our turkey, and i value so much the

partnership. today, we discussed many areas in which our countries cooperate, ing afghanistan, where our troops serve bravely together. the g-20, where we promote our shared prosperity and iran, where we agree it is critical that we see it is critical that that company do not acquire a nuclear weapon. given our shared interest in peace, i want to note the prime minister's efforts to normalize relations with israel. this will benefit both the turkish and israeli people and can help us also make progress on a two-state solution. i want to highlight. first, we agreed to expanding trade and investment over the

past four year, our trade has surged and u.s. exports to turkey have more than doubled. as the united states pursues new trade and investment partnership with a eu, i want to make sure we deepen our ties with turkey, so we're creating a new, high level committee that will increase investment between our two countries and will help fuel turkish innovation and the progress turkey's economy has made over the last several years i think has been remarkable and the prime minister deserves much credit for some of the reforms that already have. second as allies, we are reaffirming our commitment to mutual security. on behalf of the american people, i want to express our condolences on the outrageous bombings that took place. as always, the united states stands with you.

we want to thank you in the cooperation you provided us. i want to commend you for your courage in seeking a peaceful resolution that has plagued turkey for so long. we will support efforts in turkey to uphold the rule of law and good governance and human rights for all. finally we spend a great deal of time on an issue that has racked the region, the issue of syria. the turkish people have extended generosity and i know this is a burden. i have made it clear that the united states is going to continue helping countries of the region to shoulder this

burden, doing our part. and we're going to keep working with our turkish partners to deliver the food, shelter, and medicine that is needed to save lives. at the same timere going othe keep increasing the pressure on the asaad regime and working with the syrian opposition. the prime minister has pushed for a democratic syria without assad. turkey is going to play an important role as we bring partners together in the coming weeks. we both agree that asaad needs to go. he needs to transfer power to a transitional body. that is the only way we will resolve this crisis and we will keep working for a syria that is free for tyranny.

so again, mr. prime minister, i want to thank you for being here and being such a strong ally. i know that michelle appreciates the opportunity to host mrs. erdogan and your two wonderful daughters this morning. i'm looking forward to our dinner tonight and as always among the topics where i appreciated your advice that is close to our hearts, and that's how to raise our daughters well. you're a little ahead of me in terms their ages. with the prime minister's permission, i want to make one other point. there has been intense discussion around attacks in ben ghazi. we lost for brave americans. i am intent on making sure that

we do everything we can to prevent another tragedy like this from happening. that means we owe it to them to do everything in our power to protect personnel serving overseas. that's why we have been taking a series of steps that were recommended by the review board after the incident. we're continuing to review our security at high threat diplomatic posts including the size and nature of our presence, including training for those headed to dangerous posts, including warning capabilities and i directed our defense department to insure that our military can respond lightning quick in times of crisis. but we're not going to be able to do this alone. i have been in discussions in my team has been in discussions with democrats and republicans,

and i'm calling on congress to work with us to support and fully fund our budget request to improve the security of our embassies around the world. we also need congress to work with us to provide the resources and to authorities so we can fully implement all of the recommendations of the review board and we're going to need congress's help in terms of increasing the number of our marine corps guards who protect our embassies. i want to say to members of congress, we need to come together and honor the sacrifice of the four americans and better secure the posts around the world. i should add that we are getting help from the turkish government on some of the issues. that's how we learned the lessons of benghazi, and that's what i will stay focused on as commander in chief. with that, welcome to the united states. i'm sorry the weather is n conference, but i think we'll be

okay. thank you. >> thank you. mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, my dear friend, president of the united states, a friend and ally, i am here to pleased to be here in washington to have meetings with the president. i would like to express my thanks for the hospitality that has been shown to us on this occasion on behalf of myself and my delegation. in the president's person, i would like to express our condolences for the terror attack that took place in boston. we express our condolences. we are a country which has been fighting against terrorism for many years. we have lost many lives in that fight against terrism, and so we very well understand the feelings and sentiments of the

american people in the face of such an event. as turkey and the united states, we are both determined to continue to fight jointly against terrorism. my dear friends, turkey and the united states have many crews that cover the middle east to the balkans to asia covering issues such as energy and security supply and other issues. in all of these areas and on all of these issues we display a very strong cooperation. and in our meetings with president obama today we talked about relations with turkey and the united@states and also about topical issues which remain on both of our agenda. we had an opportunity to exchange views on regional and global issues and our exchange of opinions will continue throughout the day with other meetings that will take place during the rest of the day. i am here with close to 100

business people and they are holding meetings with their new counter parts in the unit and they will continue to meet this afternoon as well. bilateral economic relations between turkey and the united states have to be improved, and we both have this to do. at the moment, trade stands at $20 billion but this amount is still not sufficient. we have to increase the amount of trade to the two countries. bilateral trade will continue to develop and as we carry forward with these efforts, we need to strengthen this relationship with free trade agreements and other agreements. and i can tell you that as leaders of our nations, we have the will to continue to develop our economic relations. in our discussions that pertain

to regional issues, syria was at the top of our agenda. we talked about what has happened so far and what can be done in the future. we have views that overlap as the president has just said. we will continue to discuss this issue in greater detail in our meeting this evening. let me tell you that ending this bloody process in syria and meeting the legitimate demands of the people by establishing a new government are two areas where we are in full agreement with the united states. supporting the opposition and assad leaving are important issues. we also have to prevent syria from becoming an area for terrorist ganizations.

we agree that chemical weapons should not be used. these are all priority areas for all of us. we discuss what needs to be done with the president and we will continue to talk about these in greater detail. iraq was also another area of discussion for us on regional issues. transparent elections in iraq and the participation of -- ensuring the participation of all groups in the elections are both very important in iraq. with everyone's participation, we would like to see a peaceful period in iraq and this is what both we and the united states would like to see. with respect to the middle east peace process, we discussed with the president this important issue, which is very important for regional peace.

one was taking humanitarian aid to gaza, american citizens and turkish citizen were killed and we are working on compensation for those who lost their lives. and the visits i will pay to gaza will contribute to the peace in gaza and to unity in palestine in my opinion. the turkish republic of northern cyprus is always in favor of -- we believe that there is a lot of opportunities to reach an agreement on the cyprus issue. this is an issue we continue to focus on. we will discuss iran and afghanistan, and all of these issues. we have also briefly touched upon some developments in africa and also myanmar.

we will continue to be the case. we also touched upon issues .elated to the defense industry i can say that this has been a turning point in the context of turkish-american relations. the partnership between turkey and the united states serves peace, stability, and will continue to do so even more in the future. i will cut my remarks as short, because -- not because i'm trying to flee from the rain, but to stop here and say that i hope our discussions will be an official for our relations. >> do you what an umbrella? we can arrange it. >> those will be incentive for

the press to ask concise questions so we can give concise answers. giuliana goldman. >> i want to ask you about the irs. and you assure the american people that nobody in the white house knew about the agency actions before your counsel found out? when they did find out, do you think that you should have learned about it before you learned about it last friday? are you opposed to there being a special counsel appointed? mr. prime minister, what is the status on efforts to normalize relations with israel? do you still plan to go to gaza in the coming weeks? >> with respect to the irs, i spoke yesterday. my main concern is axing a problem. we began that process yesterday

by asking and accepting the resignation of the acting director. we will be putting in new leadership they'll be able to make sure that they are following up on the audit, that we gather up the facts, and hold accountable those who have taken these outrageous actions. it is just simply unacceptable for there to even be a hint of partisanship or ideology when it comes to the inaction of our tax forms. the marines are going to good -- look good next to us. i have a change of suits. i do not know about our prime minister. there we go. you guys, i am sorry. let me make sure that i answer

the specific question. i can assure you that i certainly did not know anything about the ig report before it had been leaked through press. typically the ig reports are not supposed to be widely distributed or shared. they tend to be a process that everybody is trying to in that attack the integrity of. what i am absolutely certain of is that the actions that were described in that report are unacceptable. in addition to making sure that we have got a new acting director, we are going to make sure that we gather up the facts and hold accountable and responsible anybody who was involved in this. we're going to make sure that we identify any structural or

management issues to prevent something like this from happening again. we're going to make sure that we are accepting all of the recommendations the ig has an airport. i'm looking forward to working with congress, to fully investigate what happened. and look at some of the loss -- laws that create an acuity in the irs may not have guidance and be clear what they mean to be doing. so the american people have confidence that the tax laws are being a player to -- applied evenly. in terms of the white house and reporting, you have gone the information from mr. carney and

others. i promise you this, the minute i found out about it, my main focus was on making sure we got the thing fixed. i think that it is going to be sufficient for us to be working with ingres's. they have committees. i have ig already there. the ig has done an audit. it is my understanding it is going to be recommending an investigation. the attorney general holder also announced a criminal investigation of what happened. between those investigations, i think we're going to figure out exactly what happened, who was involved, well and wrong, and we are going to implement steps to fix it. that is the main priority that i have, that the american people have. they understand we have got an agency that has in norma's

enormous potential power. that is why we have to make sure that it is doing its job scrupulously and without a hint of bias or him that somehow they are favoring one group over another. as i said yesterday, i am outraged by this in part because i'm a public figure. if the future ministration is trying to use the tax laws to favor one party over another, or one political view over another, we are vulnerable. that is why as i have said, it does not matter if you're a democrat or republican, you should be equally outraged at the prospect of the iressa not

the irs not acting with the kind of neutrality we expect. i think we're going to be able to fix it. we are able to get it done. we have begun that process, and we will go on until it is finished. >> the question about gaza. according to my plans, most probably i would be visiting gaza in june. it will not be a visit only to gaza. i will also go to the west bank. i place a lot of significance on this visit, in terms of peace in the middle east, and this visit no mean ways -- is favoring one or the other. i hoping that this visit will interview to unity in palestine. this is a thing that i focus on. much.

i hope that my visit can contribute to that process. thank you. >> my question to you, prime minister. you talked about the chemical weapons. we have -- did you percent that evidence to president obama this evening? what is turkey expect the united states? about serious, un said earlier that the chemical weapons would be a red line in syria. do you think that syria has overrun the red line? you set aside should go. will the u.s. take more initiative to see assad go.

>> ami say that chemical weapons and missiles that had been fired, all of the information is shared between the relevant bodies within our ministration. it is not just turkey and the united states. united kingdom, and others have that. we share information. the un security council, all relevant council will receive that information. he will continue to work in this way. >> as the prime minister indicated, our militaries and

diplomatic personnel are costly sharing information. i have said in the past, we have seen evidence of the use of chemical weapons inside of syria. it is important for us to make sure that we are able to get more specific information about what exactly is happening, but some -- apartment chemical weapons, people are being killed with artillery and mortars, and the humanitarian crisis and the slaughter that is taking place by itself is sufficient to prompt strong international action. that is why the prime minister and i spoke extensively about this. the step that we are taking to strengthen the opposition politically that it is inclusive and representative although the people inside of syria. the steps we take to strengthen

the capacity of the syrian opposition that are on the ground fighting to protect themselves from the assad regime. and that we continue to try to mobilize the entire international community to put more and more pressure on assad so that he recognizes that he is no longer legitimate, and he needs to go. that we are able to move to the political transition in which the institutions inside of syria are still functioning, but we had a representative, multiethnic, multi-religious body that can bring about democracy and peace inside of syria. with respect to what i've said

in the past around red lines. what i have said is that the use of chemical weapons are something that the civilized world has recognized should be out of bounds. as we gather more evidence of work together, my intention is to make sure that we are presenting everything that we know to the international community, as an additional reason and mechanism for the international community to put all the pressure that they can on the astonishing. -- the assad regime. there are a whole range of issues united states is engaged in. i preserve the opposite -- options of taking additional steps, diplomatic and military, because those chemical weapons threaten our security over the long term, as well as our allies and friends and neighbors. this is an international problem. it very much is my hope to continue to work with all the various parties, including turkey, to find a solution that brings peace to syria, stabilizes the region, stabilizes chemical weapons, but it would not be something that the united states is by itself. i do not think anybody in the region, including the prime minister, would think that u.s.

unilateral actions would bring about a better outcome inside of syria. >> thank you. i like to ask about the justice department. you believe that the seizure of phone records from associated press journalist this week was an overreach, and do you have confidence in your attorney general? should we interpret shield law interest as that? >> i will let you guys engage in those comparisons. you can go ahead and read the history, and trail -- and draw your own conclusions. my concern is make sure that if there is a problem in the government, we fix it. that is my responsibility. that is what we are going to do.

that is true with respect to the irs, and making sure that they apply the laws the way they were intended. that is true with respect to the eternity of our diplomats, which is why we're going to need to work with congress to make sure that there is adequate funding for what is necessary. it's respect to the department of justice, i'm not going to comment on a specific impending case. i can talk broadly about the balance that we have to strike. leaks related to national security can put people at risk. they can put men and women in uniform that i've sent to the

battlefield at risk. they can put some of our intelligence officers, who are in various dangerous situations easily compromised at risk. u.s. national security is dependent on those folks being able to operate with confidence that folks back home have their backs. so they are not just left out there, high and dry. potential he put in more danger than they may already be. i make no apologies. i do not think the american people expect me to not be concerned about information that might be compromising missions or my -- my to get them killed. the flipside of that is that we

live in a democracy, where he fear -- where a free press, free expression, and the open flow of information helpful me accountable, our government accountable, and out democracy function. the whole reason i got involved in politics is because i believe equally that democracy in that process. the whole goal of this media shield law that was worked on and endorsed by vaux like the washington post editorial, was finding a way to strike that balance appropriately. to the extent that this case,

which we still don't know all the details of, to the extent this case has prompted renewed interest about how do we strike that balance properly, i think now is the time for us to go ahead and revisit that legislation. i think that is a worthy conversation to have. i think that is important. i also think it is important to recognize that when we express concern about leaks at a time when i have city thousand troops in afghanistan, and i have a

whole bunch of intelligence officers around the world who are in risky situations, and outposts that in some cases are as dangerous as the outposts in benghazi, part of my job is to make sure that we're protecting what they do. while still accommodating for the need for information. or the need for the public to be informed and be able to hold my office accountable. >> i want to ask you, if united states is not set up in syria, how that affect the war?

what plans you have to react to the humming of the president -- town? >> i have complete confidence in eric holder as attorney general. he does his job with integrity, and i expect he will continue to do so. >> you are talking about the part of the glass which is empty. i would like to think of things as half full instead of half empty. we are -- but we like to see is the rigidity on the parts of the international community with her with respect to syria. this will we are striving for. i think the united states is doing the same. other countries, the united nations, the arab league, and

other countries are still sensitive to what is going on in syria. our aim is to accelerate this process. i will be visiting other countries just to see how we can speed things up in the way which will prevent the best of all people -- prevent the death of more people. our goal is to see the dictatorships go away in syria, and to be replaced with democracy. i think this is a collective responsibility on all countries that believe in democracy. this will continue to do. >> my first question is to you mr. president. you mentioned that assad should go. the question is, how and when? is your timetable? should we be talking but the syrian tragedy this time next her? mr. prime minister, before your departure, you stated that you had expectations from this visit and that you have some expectations. what is your general observation about this visit? >> we would preferred assad have gone two years ago. there's been consistency on the part of my administration that assad lost legitimacy when he started firing on his own people, killing his own people, who initially were protesting peacefully. for greater voice in their country's affairs.

obvious the that has escalated during the course of time. the answer is, the sooner the better. in terms of the question of how, i think we have discussed that. there is no magic or miller for dealing with -- no magic formula for dealing with an extraordinarily violent and difficult situation like syria. if there was, the prime minister and i would have already acted on it, and would be finished.

instead, we have to do is apply, strengthen the opposition. i do think that the prospect of talks in geneva involving the russians and representatives about a serious political transition that all parties can buy into may yield results. in the meantime, if we're going to continue to make sure that we are helping the opposition, and below the monetary situation, we will do so in close consultation with turkey, which is deeply invested in this. >> thank you very much. as you know, we will be meeting again this evening to go in further detail. as i said before, our views do

overlap. whether discussions this evening, we will continue to explore what we can do together. we can consider as part of a roadmap looking at geneva and beyond. russia and china being part of this process is very important. this iimportt in the context of the un security council their participation in this process will certainly add to the impetus, the pressure continues to be very important element.

when we look at the humanitarian support that we have provided so far, we seem that supports equaling to provide billion dollars. we continue to do this because we have a border which is 900, tours and length with syria. we have relatives across the border on each side. we will continue to do this. these are important for regional peace because on the one hand, you have the steps that have been taken to normalize relations with palestinians and the israelis. we do not need to have other problems in the region. we had steps taken to ring syria and israel together to solve their problems. we had five rounds of discussions proportionally, they came to an end. i hope that all the steps that we take in the future with respect to regional peace will lead to results and we can work together with the united states. thank you. we are discussing all of these issues. there are steps to be taken by

the un security council in the geneva process. will continue to assess that. >> thank you. thank you. thank you guys. >> ok, everybody. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> thank you for being here. my name is michele bachmann. am a member of congress. i am a chairman of the tea party caucus in the house of representatives. and a former tax litigation attorney for the irs, as will government to repeal obamacare. this is a momentous day. one week ago today, we held a hearing in the house of representatives on benghazi.

questions were asked one week ago today. one week ago tomorrow, we found out devastating information again, the irs apparently used for political purposes information about people's beliefs, whether they were religious beliefs, or political believes, potentially to deny people their tax status if a had believes that were against the ministration. and we learned that applications were approved -- subsequent to the original story, we had an omission from the iris that they in fact made these decisions. this is extremely troubling. the axiom is the power to tax is the power to destroy. now with the implementation of

obamacare at hand, and knowing that it is the iressa -- the irs will be the enforcing mechanism for this new entitlement program, it is important to ask, and reasonable to ask, could there be political locations regarding healthcare, access to healthcare, and denial of healthcare? will that happen based on a person's political believes? these questions will be considered out of bounds one week ago.

today, these questions are considered more than reasonable. and more than fair for the american people. what you will hear our state tories of common people from across the united states and wanted to be able to access their free speech rights as american citizens, but they were denied those rights because their tax status was denied in order to be able to speak out as an organization. we collected an impressive group of individuals that have very important things to say to you today. we have members of the united states senate, house of

representatives, the most poorly we will hear from those people who were victimized by this administration, and this administration's policies. what -- i like to ask mitch mcconnell to come to the podium. thank you. >> thank you. as eric wilson from kentucky is here, i first heard about this issue from him in the summer of 2012. i made a speech about the threat of the federal government using the apparatus of the federal government to quiet the voices of critics. at the time, the washington post and others said it was just a red herring. now we know it really happened. these horror stories of the government attempted to quiet the voices of critics is rather rampant. it is interesting to note that the iressa apparently -- the iressa gateway left wing group information on one of the conservative groups before their tax status had even been established. this is runaway government at its worst. who knows who they will target next. it is going to be a complete and thorough investigation of this

in congress. the only who may have known about it, but what the rank-and- file believed was their mission. the truth will come out. it always does. it can out sooner, but we will find out what happened. >> thank you. next cap senator rand paul from kentucky. >> there is something profoundly un-american about targeting your political opponents. whether you are republican or democrat, or independent in this country, to take the abuse of a $3.8 trillion government, and to use it to stifle opposition, is un-american. i'm a physician. i'm quite worried about the privacy of medical records. i am worried that your medical records now will be evaluated by the irs, that seems to have the ability and intention to use political persuasion and political op-ed to search out political opponents. i'm concerned about this. someone needs to be held responsible.

someone needs to be imprison someone needs to be prosecuted. the resignation of the -- the resignation is a step in the right fraction. we need to know who wrote this policy. they need to be held accountable. but thank you. that goes to the white house. we need to know what the white house knew, and when they knew it. we have with us senator mike lee from utah.

confirm our worst fears about our government. they didn't tell us what we don't want to believe, but might be true -- or -- a government is targeting you. the government is spying on you. your government is lying to you. we need your member that this isn't just an act of a democratic administration attacking republicans. it is much more than that. this is an act of the political ruling class in washington, regardless of affiliation, targeting the american people. we have to remove that when the federal government gets too big,

it becomes unmanageable. i agree wholeheartedly with what david f -- david axelrod said. he said that the federal government is too vast for the president united states to control. to manage. he is right. no one can manage something this big. therein lies the problem. our federal government was great for purposes that james madison described as few and defined. it has become a government without limits, without an. no one can manage a $4 trillion annual government. no one can manage a $5 trillion government. we need to roll it back. we need to return it to a simpler, more manageable government. that is the only way we are going to be able to prevent things like this happening. when that happens, nobody's going to manage the whole thing effectively. in that happens, if people are going to be targeted.

we need to sympathize our laws. we need to downsize our federal government. thank you. >> a man who has been peerless and asking the tough questions, senator ted cruz. >> thank you. i would like to begin by thanking michelle for organizing this. taking a french me house for your leadership this very important issue. and thanking the minimum and who have come up here to join us today. -- and thanking the men and women who came up here to join us today. the thousands of hours devoted of their lies to try to turn this country around.

thomas jefferson told us when government fears the citizens, there is liberty. when citizens for the government, there is to rainy. the last couple of weeks we have had a series of revelations, which share common elements. the queen -- between benghazi, and the pressuring of private companies to support political efforts to support obamacare, the unifying themes in those patterns are number one and arrogance and view of government, the machinery at partisan ends, he told the place to punish political enemies. and a disdain willingness to

mislaid, and ecb american people. i think the american people need every right to expect matter. they are here because they are working to try to hold their elected officials accountable. that is exactly their prerogative in the constitution to read protected in the bill of rights told every one of us accountable. the idea that the federal government would be targeting citizens, and particularly looking at speaking out, exercising their right to speak the truth, they would be subjected to special harassment, special targeting. it seems to me there are questions that need to be asked, including who knew about this, who didn't act to stop it, whose favor was being curried doing this? one of the stories i've read on the iressa -- irs was a taxpayer if the federal government is being made to behave as an arm of the political partisan campaign apparatus, we are losing the constraint that the constitution has meant to put on our government. i am thankful for our citizens here today who hold all of us accountable. >> thank you. he also have with us a significant number of members of the united states congress. commerce been joe barton, jim bryan stunt, -- congressman louie gohmert, congressman randy hultgren, congressman steve king of iowa. congressman doug lamborn, congress and james lankford, congressman ted poe. congress and ted walberg, and commerce and jeff duncan, among others.

we want to present to you real people who have been affected by the decisions by the iressa, and who knows who else, to attack the liberties of the american people. diane? >> hello. i'm presenting lawrence county tea party. we filed 4501 c4 status in june of 2010. we heard nothing for over two years. writing for the election, we received medication from the iressa requesting linking amounts of information. -- we received lengthy amounts of information requesting information. we comply as best we could. they wanted more information. we sent more things in. that ended march 5. we still have not deceived any word from the irs. almost three years later, we are

still in the dark esther -- as to whether we are being approved for status. we live in a free republic. at least i thought we did. when you think of obamacare being implemented and 61,000 people added -- i have a very simple solution to this. let's abolish the irs and have something like a fair tax that would make things much simpler and remove this problem. let's repeal obamacare. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, diane. also a tea party leader from across the united states of the ohio liberty coalition. >> thank you. we are here today not to

represent ourselves or even the tea party people from around this nation, but we are here to represent all of the american people who want what we all want, and that is our constitutional rights. we want their freedom of speech and assembly that we are entitled to under our constitution. this irs targeting is demonstration of us being denied that. we're grateful to our purpose and it is for taking this on and trying trying to find out the truth of this. the wheels of justice are turning. they will find out. we want to put faces to the stories. a woman was asked -- we want you to meet a man from the cincinnati area. he and his wife are personally audited because the irs said they were members of the tea party. the whole problem is too much government. it is too large. the real heroes are the moms and pops and aunts and uncles around

this country remember and stood up and did not need to be told what was right or wrong. we know that this is wrong. go to local tea party website and take another look at the tea party. we are standing up for the rights of everyone. thank you for representing us. we would not have got here if it were not for them. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] we have with us next a woman who's the head of the tea party patriots. [applause] >> the irs veneer of

impartiality is shattered. the irs must be audited. tea party patriots insist on independent, transparent, outside and thorough investigation because the irs cannot be trusted. the justice department is suffering from extreme lack of credibility as of the moment. tea party groups have been waiting for years for the irs to treat us fairly and equally. instead they have singled us out and discriminated and persecuted us. government agents have used the irs as a weapon to silence speech and harass innocent americans and perhaps sway elections. it took over a year to get answers from the inspector general's investigation, which was sparked when questions were

asked in march of 2012. the answers in this week's report served to raise even more questions. for instance, who in the irs began targeting groups? why were we targeted? we still do not have answers to the most basic questions. all tea party roots ou a patriots have seen corrosive and deceitful coverups and contradictions. in the past week, that is coming out to the media and the american public to see as all. the damaged the irs has caused might be immeasurable. there are groups and volunteers who gave up collectively

petitioning their government and others who never even attempted to apply for tax-exempt status because they saw what other citizens were enduring. there are some for whom the irs is still stringing along. the public is rapidly losing faith in the irs and its ability to impartially apply the law in an equal and fair manner to all citizens. it is easy to dismiss theoretical, faceless groups. the pain and suffering by the government upon our fellow citizens is real and profound. tea party patriots brought as many of these groups to d.c. as time would allow. we stand with patriots. they believe they lost 100 members as a resof overbearing nature of the irs inquisition.

they still have not received word from the irs. juliett hodges from the mississippi tea party withdrew their application after months of delays designed to intimidate americans. the irs question her and her group, asking for a list with every book the group had read and a book report on each book. this is clearly excessive. we also join all those across the country who have felt abused and threatened by the irs.

tea party patriots has not back down and we will keep fighting. if you want to start a tea party group, sign up with the tea party patriots. we will help you. we will not allow the irs or any branch of the government or any government agency to take away our first amendment right or any of our constitutional rights. the irs is thuggish and discriminative. this illustrates why you must have a government that is constitutionally limited. we must have a government small enough to manage and execute its

duties confidently and with integrity. most importantly, the government we the people can trust. that is what tea party patriots has fought for over the last four years. >> thank you. [applause] it was feared because it was an organic and spontaneous uprising against big government, against the bailout, and against the stimulus and against obamacare and dodd frank. this is a spontaneous movement and one administration obviously wanted to silence. it is important to know what the tea party is. they stand for three very simple american concepts. number one, we believe the american people are taxed enough already. we believe the government should not spend more money than it takes in. number three, we believe

american government should follow the constitution of the united states. that is what the tea party believes. we will be hearing from the tea party express. is she here? jordan from the american center of law and justice. >> thank you. i want to say it thank you to congresswoman bachmann and members of the congress were standing with people like tom. got approved a little bit after the election. another is still waiting. 16 clients out of the 27 we have represented are here with us today. 17 clients ready to sue the irs and bring legal action. if they are approved by friday, we set it to a new deadline for approval for our 10 remaining clients. even if that deadline is met for them, we have common others who are not able. they lost memberships and donations. they missed the election cycle. they were not able to bring speakers in. the irs, this is far from over. 28 withdrew. zero were denied, but 28 withdrew. they were tired of fighting with the irs. the organization was destroyed through this process. many are willing to start

fighting again. this is far from over. if any organizations are interested in taking legal action, whether approved late or not approved, go to aclj.org. we can represent you and we do not charge for our services. without our 27 clients and the other groups that spoke out, do think we would have figured out this was happening a year ago?

if they do not fight back, they would have withdrawn. those people who got these questions from the irs said, thank you. i'm not dealing with this. what books are you reading and are you thinking about running for public office one day? is is unconstitutional and illegal. our members of congress will find this is criminal. we have clients who are damaged whether they got approved two and a half years later and others are still waiting today. one applied in 2009 that has still not been approved. thank you for taking on the irs. >> thank you. [applause] and now mr. todd. >> good morning, everyone. my name is todd. i'm a founder of the tea party.net. about 3 million members. thank you to the press for being here. covering events like this, the irs scandal is a pattern. it is not an isolated event. this is why we started to party organizations over three years ago. we have seen the patterns of this happening. this is the house of cards beginning to fall apart. even with the press, with the seizure of phone records.

this is an american issue. the tea party was one of the organizations that was targeted. we were targeted. we applied for a 501(c)(4) over three years ago. today we have not received the status. we have had three rounds of questions. the first round was accessible and normal, but then the questions got longer and more intrusive. they wanted things like our donor list and e-mails and facebook communications and twitter communications. we have over 2 million people on facebook. this is private information. it makes a chill go down your spine. why would the government want this personal information on american citizens? we are not about to give that information to them. it is not required and we will not provide it. getting back to the government seizing records, i went to be the first one to welcome the press as part of the tea party movement. welcome. [laughter] [applause]

>> we have mr. adam brandon. >> good morning, everyone. two different reporters asked me what are the implications for 2014. i do not want anyone to misunderstand. this is not a short term, political issue. this is a civil right's issue. this is a long-term issue.

it will have an impact far beyond the next midterm election. one thing you will see we have been trying to do is not just be a protest movement on the street.as a group we have been trying to organize a get together -- a get together in our communities. the fact that the government is going in there and messing around with it, we are very concerned. this is not a short-term. expect to hear a lot more about this as time goes on. i'm personally curious -- is this coming from the white house? from the agency? or is this individual people ofe

wild? it'll probably take take us a couple of years to figure out. everyone standing behind me, we will be there. [applause] >> thank you. this is the largest expansion of employees and one of the largest entitlement programs that people have seen in decades. it is crucial that we ask these questions now when the most sensitive, personal information healthcare information -- would be centralized in a national database.

who will have access to the database? for what purpose? sensitive information can be used to blackmail americans. this question would have been considered unreasonable and out of bounds a week ago. today this question is highly relevant. we also have a guest from the tea party.net. >> thank you. i'm a chief strategist at theteaparty.net. 40 years ago, the press had an adversarial relationship with the chief executive, richard nixon. today is different. some might say it is casual. folks coming in from obama administration. people coming from the media into the obama administration. some people have said it is incestuous. perhaps what is most disgusting is the degree to which many of you and the established media have taken your marching orders from the dnc and other operatives.

after the tea party revolution in 2010, many of you projected the most vile things about the tea party, that it is racist, which i found particularly ironic. [laughter] there are no grounds for dismissing the pathology of the tea party. i want all of you to ask a question about yourselves -- what did you do to help create this environment with the irs where they can operate in such a way? we do not ask for special treatment. we only ask for decency and fairness.

thank you. >> thank you. appreciate it. [applause] we have a number of other leaders from across the states. from california, tennessee, oklahoma. all across the united states. they can tell you the stories they have heard. paul broun from the state of georgia. tea party organizations have been adversely affected. we have a number of members of congress, all of whom are available to speak with the press afterwards. we have so many people here with so many stories. we can be here for a long time. we want to open up and take a few questions. i want to make it clear that members of congress are here and available to answer your questions and be in leadership or tea party organizations from across the united states. i encourage you to speak in person with members of our congress and to party

organizations. they have a lot of shocking details and stories to share. >> do you think the problem is fixed since the president let someone go? >> my colleague is part of the media. he is asking some of the questions. you're asking a great question. he asked that yesterday. the president engaged in damage control 101. he wanted to stop the story. he has had a bad week this week. what we saw again is where they're asking for the resignation and it looked like it was going to be a big shakedown by getting rid of mr. steven miller of the irs.

we find out mr. miller was scheduled to resign anyway and leave the irs as the early part of june. again, the american people have not been told the truth. what did the white house know and when did he know it? we will open up to questions. >> any legislation planned to address this? >> right now we will have

hearings. various chairs have indicated that. but there is legislation. ever presented from ohio was to put in criminal penalties for those who abuse -- because of the very sensitive nature, it is wrong for the irs to misuse personal tax data. we have very strict requirements that we could not act without the area of jurisdiction. we have very thick manuals for standard operating procedures. we had to check every box. it did not matter if you are an attorney or in a field or in collections or if you were writing the notices of deficiency. it did not matter. your work product was checked by your supervisor and you could not ask beyond your jurisdiction. reporter: [inaudible] >> what was asked was, do you have any reason to believe the adste targeting? at is what everyone wants to know. were they involved? that is why there will be a question e-mail to the president united states. what he needs to say is that he and his a ministration of the fully cooperative with the united states congress so we can restore the american people's trust and credibility of the irs. >> earlier this week we heard the word impeachment of talks around during capitol hill. is that something that should be

considered? do some of you feel like that should be considered? >> i will let anyone come to the microphone to answer that. as i have been home in my district in minnesota, there is not a weekend that has not gone by by someone says to me, michelle, what in the world are you all waiting for in congress? why are you not impeaching the president? he has been making unconstitutional action since he came into office. i will tell you what i have been hearing from people back all. but is there anyone here that would like to speak on that? >> that is why we need an investigation. we need to know who started this and why and when. is it only contained to the irs or does it go further? >> we also do not want to jump to conclusions. we want to go where the facts can lead us. anyone else? >> can you talk about why did party wants the government's recognition -- why the tea party wants the government's recognition? jordan? alan? he will answer that. thank you. >> what is the question again?

>> why do tea party groups want any kind of recognition from the government? particularly tax-exempt status? >> i think you're making an assumption that is not correct. the organizations vary. most of them are not political. most of them are interested in policies. that is permitted for organizations. >> thank you. >> this is really an important point for the american public to understand. we did not seek 501(c)(4) status. where businessmen, farmers, teachers. we're doing the prudence thing. we started taking bus trips to washington, d.c. you need to have money and insurance and take care of your business. we did the prudent thing. in a pre-citizens united world, we learn you cannot be a corporation a cousin we do not have the ability to do these types of.

it was considered a political thing taking a bus trip. what happened was when we started to say what we do, the irs told us we must seek it. they told us we must seek tax exemption. the tea party people, we pay our taxes. >> i would add this. all of our clients voluntarily subjected themselves to government oversight. they are not rogue. they want to do the right thing. we are subjecting ourselves voluntarily to not just government oversight when 10, but for the rest of our existence. all of the forms that have to file. they want to do the right thing and say, here i am, government.

here's the monday -- money we are spending and here is how we're using it. it was the irs who illegally targeted them. this is harassment at a level that is certainly a civil suit worthy and possibly criminal. it is at least a civil suit. they will be filing next week. even for groups got approved after the election. a criminal investigation is series -- serious and real. it is the whole country that is outraged. >> we have another who would like to add just -- address that question. >> our motto is to educate and inspire and empower the american people. we need to tell them about what is happening to their country. that way they can make a

judgment when it comes to election day which direction they want the future our country to go into and what opportunities for their and future generations can have. we're trying to put forth the principles of the united states constitution on which this country was founded and became the most successful country and envy of the world in the history of mankind. our political activities are severely limited under the guidelines of the 501(c)(4). we adhere to those guidelines, but we still receive an egregious eight-page letter from the irs asking for every minute detail and turning over our donor names, sponsor names, and our funding has dried up because of this. membership has been hurt because of the irs has asked for everyt. >> we have amy cramer who is

also a national tea party leader from the tea party express. she also wants to speak on this important issue. >> thank you. thank you to all of the members and others that are here today. this is an important issue that obviously i think we are scratching the service. i reached out to the speaker's office and the senate. it was a targeted effort that was popping up all over the country. i'm glad it has come into the light. we all need to stand together and not let this be brushed under the rug. this is a violation of our first amendment rights. that is a fundamental part of being american. the government works for us. we hired them. this is an abuse of power. it is concerning. the irs is abusing their power.

they have a class act lawsuit. what will happen to our medical records when they are implementing obamacare? this is not acceptable. we need to stand strong. thank you for holding this today. >> do you have a number on the status of those turned down? >> some have withdrawn and some are waiting. i want to go back to the question of why were you seeking legal status? have you heard what has happened? you have a government that is forcing people to get a legal status in order to come up here and have their voices heard.

once they force you into this funnel having that legal status, then they use that to intimidate and abuse to prevent opposite views from being heard. this is a government run amok. if the ap has taught you anything, it should be to the media -- you will be used for a while and then when you're no longer needed, you'll be pressured and put out of business as well. this is a very dangerous time. it is interesting question. why would you want legal status? this is the way of tyrannical government ppe